Nonexistence
by TigStripe
Summary: Post KH2. Axel finds himself in a world where Nobodies exist and everyone else doesn't. Now, he has to help liberate the oppressed Organization from the tyranny of a dreadful enemy. Finished.
1. 1 Void Feelings

This is a new story that I came up with that will base itself around Axel. Yaaaaay Axel! Y'know you love him.

I do _not_ own any of the characters associated with Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, or Kingdom Hearts 2. Got it memorized?

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

1: Void Feelings

.oOo.

The world was blurry as the red-haired man slowly opened his eyes. He realized that he was lying on his back, staring up at a sky that could only be described as completely blank. It was devoid of color and clouds. The world had turned white. He made a move to sit up, but realized that his head was throbbing in pain. He reached up with his left hand and felt his forehead for injuries, for that was where it hurt, but he could not find anything. The pain must have been inside his head.

_What…what happened?_

The man managed to sit up completely and look around. The horizon was still blurry, but he could make out the barren, uninteresting wasteland around him. He looked down to the rest of his body to see that he was garbed in a long black cloak. His hands were encased in black leather gloves, and his feet were covered in similarly dark-colored shoes. Putting the base of his palms to his forehead again, the man tried to remember what had happened. Nothing came to him. He seemed to have lost all memory of who he was.

Then something flashed through his head faster than his mind could latch onto it. It flashed through again, slower this time, but still too fast for the man to make out what it had said. A third time it passed by his mind, this time slow enough for him to hear, see, whatever it is you do with thoughts, the message in the memory:

"_The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"_

The man lowered his hands and stared out at the blurred horizon. "Axel," he murmured. "My name is Axel."

Axel stood to his feet and ran a gloved hand through his spiky red hair. It was swept back, as if he had been placed in a wind tunnel and then his hair had been glued that way, but it also fell down his back a small amount. Axel thought it felt kind of cool.

One more glance around the barren landscape brought upon another thought: _Where am I?_

Axel took a step forward and the landscape seemed to shift with him. It changed subtly: the ground turned a mild shade of red and the sky began to become cloudy. Axel gazed around, amazed by the sudden changes. What had happened?

Another step and the ground became a deeper red as the sky began to grow crowded with clouds. Again, Axel was surprised. Was he causing this with his steps?

A third step and the ground turned a crimson color, the clouds completely blocked the blank sky, and Axel could feel the temperature rise a few degrees. Axel didn't know what was happening, but to him it felt right. He knew that something about the changing landscape was exactly as it was supposed to be.

Axel could feel the energy. The need to burst free. He knew that one more step would do it. He lifted his leg and placed it forward. His foot hit the ground, and Axel's anticipation was not left waiting.

Flames burst out of the ground around Axel. Adrenaline flooded his system as he stepped back to get away from the raging inferno, but the flames followed him. He tried ducking to the side, but again, the flames followed his movements. He took a step forward, the flames did as well. They were mimicking his every movement, copying his every thought. Axel was amazed, but infuriated at the same time. He could not free himself from the ring of fire.

"What's your deal?" Axel cried at the flames.

"What's _your_ deal?"

Axel spun around, but he couldn't see the source of the voice because of the flames. He needed them to die down so he could see who had said that. Strangely enough, the flames between him and the source of the voice died instantly. Axel was now surrounded by a semi-circle of fire, not a complete circuit. Beyond the dead flames was a petite woman in a black cloak exactly like Axel's. Her hands, too, were gloved and her hood was lifted to conceal her hair. She had a pretty face, but it seemed to be sneering at Axel.

"What? Who are you?" Axel asked. It was strange, but he realized that he no longer cared about the fire. The flames flickered around him, but he totally ignored them. They wouldn't hurt him. He was sure of that.

"What?" the woman replied, lowering her hood to reveal short-cropped blonde hair wrapped back around her ears. "I'm surprised you don't remember me, Axel. It's me, Larxene."

Axel glared at this new woman. She knew who he was? How? He'd never met this woman before!

"How do you know my name?" Axel demanded.

Larxene chuckled. "Oh, I know a lot more than that, Axel. I know that you manipulate the flames. You are a traitor of two kinds. You have no idea where you are. Oh, and you're utterly infuriated by the fact that I know these things about you."

Axel growled at the woman standing so mockingly in front of him. "Who the hell are you to know so much about me?" he demanded savagely.

Larxene merely smirked at Axel's response. "I am a colleague, Axel. Well, kind of, anyway. I am a member of an Organization that you not long ago betrayed. I am a traitor of that Organization that you also betrayed. I have no loyalty to you, Axel, there is no reason that you know of why I should keep you alive right now."

"That I know of," Axel repeated in a whisper. "What aren't you telling me?" he asked, louder.

Larxene turned her back to Axel and flipped her hood up. She was no longer distinguishable as a woman. "Follow me, Axel, and all your questions shall be answered."

Axel stepped back from Larxene's shrouded body. "Where are you planning on taking me?"

Larxene said nothing for a moment, then replied simply, "To see Roxas."

Axle's eyes widened. "Roxas." That name held a certain familiarity to it. It held…feelings. But how was that possible? Axel shouldn't be able to "feel" things…he…

…He had no heart.

"No heart," Axel whispered. His eyes were wide in fear. How could one exist without a heart? Maybe…Maybe Axel…Maybe Axel didn't exist at all.

Larxene's head visibly lowered. "You're recovering quicker than most of us did, Axel. Nothing less from you. You always were one of the smartest members of the Organization. Too smart for your own good, at times. That's why you were such a threat."

Axel didn't know what Larxene was referring to, but he realized that going with her might be able to help answer that question, along with many others. He stood up to his full height, which was considerably taller than Larxene. "Lead the way."

Larxene looked over her shoulder at the fiery-haired man. "Not afraid of Nothing, eh?"

Axel shook his head. He didn't truly exist. He had nothing to lose. There was no way he'd pass up learning about himself when he was so confused. Being confused angered Axel. Being angry angered Axel even more. Such feelings would only provoke the appearance of more flames. Those flames were things that Axel hoped to prevent. "You approached me, girly. You lead the way."

.oOo.

This is quite possibly the shortest chapter I've ever written for fanfiction. If you like Axel, stay tuned – this story's just getting started. Confusion and clarification abound in this story.

Read and review if you want to see a new chapter. :3


	2. 2 Blank Rage

Thank you for the reviews, I'm really happy to see some thoughts from people who haven't reviewed any of my other works. Thankee, thankee! Now, because you're interested…

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters associated with Kingdom Hearts/Chain of Memories/KH2.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

2: Blank Rage

.oOo.

Larxene led Axel along the once-again colorless landscape. The skies had cleared once more and Axel felt a fatigue that he knew had been caused by the erupting flames. Larxene had mentioned that Axel manipulated the flames, but could she be telling the truth? It made sense to him – he had felt right moments before the flames had erupted around him, and they had followed his every whim. He had not realized it at the time, but when he looked back on it, it seemed to line up with her story perfectly.

"Where are we going?" Axel asked gruffly. "We've been walking for over an hour."

Larxene seemed to giggle inside her hood. "There is no time here. Quit being impatient."

Axel fumed. They really had been walking for some time. If Larxene didn't start talking soon, Axel would fricassee her butt and make a break for it. Why? Axel pondered why he felt that way. He couldn't figure out a valid answer, but he suspected that it had something to do with the fact that she had called him a traitor. Something about that accusation rang true in Axel's mind, and he kind of liked the idea. It's too bad he couldn't remember what he was a traitor _of_.

"We're almost there," Larxene called back to him, forcing Axel to come back to his dull surroundings in order to look around.

The barren landscape seemed to get smoother, less rocky, and eventually turn into what looked like concrete. A few buildings popped up here and there, eventually becoming more and more frequent until it was obvious to Axel that they were walking into a city. Strangely enough, the red-haired man had not seen the city appearing upon the horizon. Axel looked out to the horizon out past the city's border only to notice that it was still blurry. In fact, the buildings that he and Larxene had passed minutes before were beginning to turn fuzzy as they approached the horizon itself.

"What's with the fuzz?" Axel demanded as he turned around to walk behind Larxene again.

"You'll find out when we get to the back alley," Larxene replied. "Don't worry, it's not far now."

"Good, I'm getting tired of all this walking," Axel growled.

The two of them continued to tread lightly across the thickening city streets until Larxene took a sudden left turn into an alleyway. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Axel followed silently, although a large skyscraper had come into view on the horizon, and although it was fuzzy like everything else at that distance, Axel had been intrigued as to what it had been.

Larxene came to a manhole and pointed down to it. "We're heading down there," she instructed. Axel nodded and heaved the surprisingly heavy manhole cover off of the street. Larxene dropped down into the hole effortlessly, followed closely by Axel.

Axel landed on concrete next to a stream of crystal clear water. There was no smell, no sour presence in the sewer system. Axel was surprised, but he was more surprised that he had expectations of what a sewer should be like. He hardly had any memories at all, let alone concepts to base this world on.

"Just a little farther," Larxene said, her voice echoing through the tunnel. "It's this way." With a point, Larxene began moving, again followed by Axel.

This time, they didn't move very far before Larxene turned down a side tunnel and stopped at a ladder that led up to the streets. Larxene took the initiative to head up first. She stopped at the top and peeked through the crack in the manhole, issuing a confused through from Axel: _it's like we're trying not to be seen_.

Axel followed Larxene up to the streets after she signaled it safe. When they were both on the street, Larxene replaced the manhole and pointed at an alleyway behind them. Axel nodded silently, following her quiet example, and chased her down the alley to a very tiny offshoot of that alley.

The duo came to a chain link gate that led into a small hallway that approached a large steel door.

"We're here," Larxene whispered to her red-haired traveling companion. "Just be quiet, okay?"

Axel crossed his arms and fumed silently. He was getting tired of Larxene's mouth.

Larxene tapped lightly on the steel door. There were three knocks from the other side, to which Larxene answered, "Savage Nymph." There was a horrible squeaking sound as something on the other side of the door shifted, and the door opened with an audible thumping sound.

"Let's go," Larxene commanded. Axel's arms dropped to his side and he followed the woman inside. The door closed heavily behind them and the horrible squeaking sound followed closely behind. Axel rubbed his forehead to get the ringing out of his ears. He turned around to see that there was a dial on the door as if it had once belonged to a gigantic safe.

A man with long, spikey, oddly-colored hair that hung down in front of his eyes stood facing Larxene, who was saying something to him that Axel couldn't hear. The man nodded a few times and his eyes shifted to look at Axel as Larxene continued to speak.

When Larxene was finished, the man turned fully to look at Axel, who shifted his weight in waiting. Axel was getting tired of all this waiting, and he wanted answers.

"Welcome, Axel," the man said with an outstretching of his hands. "My name is Marluxia. I'm the current leader of the Organization. It is a pleasure to have you here with us."

Axel didn't take part in any kind of friendly handshake with this man. Instead, he stared him down like a dog stares down a cat. "I don't really care who you are," Axel replied, "I want some answers. For starters, where the hell am I?"

"All questions will be answered in time," Marluxia replied airily. "First, however, I'd like to talk to Larxene about the current situation."

Larxene nodded and stepped forward. She looked back at Axel. "We'll just be a moment. Wait here if you know what's good for you."

Axel felt heat reach his face and realized that he was beginning to boil over. That woman's attitude was almost too much in one sentence, let alone an entire afternoon with her!

"That woman has no tact," a man said from behind Axel. The red-haired man whipped around to see a somewhat short man with silvery-blue hair that fell over one half of his face. He, too, wore a black cloak, just like Axel, Larxene, and Marluxia. Axel was beginning to tire of the black.

"It's nice to see you, Axel," the man said with a small bow. "If you'll follow me, I'm sure we can answer a few of your questions."

Axel smirked. Going against the No. 2? That was fine with Axel if he were to get some answers around here. Axel nodded and said, "Lead the way."

The short man turned and led Axel down a long, narrow staircase that led to a long hallway that eventually stopped at a large ivory door. The number 13 was written in Roman numerals (XIII) on the door. The short man tapped on it three times and it instantly disappeared, as if by magic.

Axel was led into the next room, a large, circular room with thirteen thrones of different heights. Above each throne was a Roman numeral leading from one (I) to thirteen (XIII) around the room in a clockwise fashion.

"Where am I?" Axel asked, a little surprised by the sheer size of the white room.

The man did not answer. Instead, he walked to the center of the room, raised his arms, and began to lift off of the ground and towards one of the thrones. He stopped at the sixth tallest throne and turned. He slowly backed up and placed himself in the throne. On his right, a taller throne, was a muscular man with short red hair. On that man's right, a man with long dirty blonde sat in the number four throne. Elsewhere in the room, a wiry-looking man with short dirty blonde hair sat in the ninth throne.

"Axel has returned to us, it would seem," the number four man said.

"So it would seem," No. 5 agreed.

"So what're ya gonna do now, Axel?" No. 9 asked. "This hasn't always been the most precious place for you to be, y'know. In fact, if I remember correctly, you're quite the traitor."

Axel's face ran hot. "I don't remember anything about being a traitor," he admitted. Yet somewhere else in his mind, he felt that they spoke the truth. He had indeed once fought their allies.

"It would seem that Larxene found him in the wilderness," No. 6 told the others.

"How unfortunate that she found him first," No. 5 admitted.

"Yes, quite unfortunate," No. 4 agreed. "We shall make sure that they do not keep their greedy hands on him. His is a true Organization member, regardless of his previous actions."

"How can we be sure of that?" No. 6 asked in outrage. "He outright betrayed us before, how can we trust him not to do such a thing again?"

"Maybe he's reformed," No. 9 said in a tone that led Axel to believe that he did, indeed, believe that Axel had "changed." No. 9 looked down at Axel from his throne. "Whaddya say, Axel? Reformed? Not gonna back out on us and side with Larxene and Marluxia, are ya?"

Axel was beyond confused. Evidently Larxene and Marluxia were plotting against these four, but they all claimed to be members of the same Organization.

"I don't know what's going on here," Axel admitted. "I just want some answers."

"Then answers we can give," No. 4 said, steeping his fingers.

"What do you not know?" No. 9 asked Axel. He was leaning forward in his throne, as if anxious to hear what Axel didn't remember.

Axel looked up at him as if he were crazy for a moment, then stole a glance at each one of them in turn. "Well, first of all, who are all of you?"

No. 9 jumped back in his seat. "You're kidding! You don't remember any of us?"

"I didn't remember Larxene or Marluxia, either," Axel countered sincerely. His patience was wearing thin. Didn't they realize that he was speaking the truth? Why were they asking redundant questions?

No. 4 nodded slowly. "Very well, Axel, you deserve our help in recovering yourself. My name is Vexen, Number 4 in the Organization. To my left is Lexaeus, and farther yet is Zexion. On the other side of the room, there, the loud one is Demyx."

Axel followed Vexen's introductions with his eyes. Vexen…Lexaeus…Zexion…Demyx…yes, he knew all these people. These names were familiar to him. He had once liked them, but that liking had turned to utmost hatred. Hatred for…what? Why had he turned against his colleagues? Axel's eyes fell on throne thirteen and lingered there. Was there something special about that throne?

"What else would you like to know?" Vexen called down to his red-haired colleague.

Axel looked back up at the Number 4. "Where am I?"

Vexen nodded slowly, his fingers still steepled. "I had a feeling that you would ask such a difficult question."

"What's so difficult about it?" Axel roared, throwing his hands out in frustration. "It's a simple enough question, isn't it? Just tell me where the hell I am!"

"Calm yourself, Axel," Lexaeus commanded. His deep, rumbling voice carried with it a force of authority that Axel felt some part of him obligated to comply. "Becoming emotional will not result in your questions being answered."

Demyx leaned his head on one hand. "Yeah, have to admit, you're getting worked up over practically nothing. It's not like you can escape the afterlife."

Axel whipped around to stare at Demyx. Did he just say…

Demyx's eyes shot open in surprise. "Oh, you didn't realize that you were dead? Sorry, man. You bit the big one."

Zexion glared at Demyx. "Show some compassion."

Demyx returned the glare. "Sorry if I don't show my heart on my sleeve," he countered.

Axel stepped back, out of the center of the room. He was dead? How could that be? But, yet, he felt. Why could he feel things? Why could he feel anger, frustration? If he were dead, shouldn't he be above such worldly emotion?

Again, but this time a little more shaken than before, Axel asked, "Where am I?"

Vexen's steepled fingers came unglued as he leaned forward to look down at Axel. "You, Axel, are in Nonexistence."

Axel's ears hardly took in the words. He did, however, hear the word "Nonexistence." So he really _didn't_ exist.

"So I don't exist," Axel murmured, taking it in. "The feeling I had was right. I'm worthless. A nobody."

"That's right!" Demyx said with a grin. "You're a Nobody! Be proud!"

Axel glared at Demyx with a deadly grimace. "You stay outta this!" he cried.

Demyx sat back and nodded as if he were proving himself right about something. He looked up at Vexen and waved a hand out at Axel, as if proving a point.

"It would seem that you haven't changed," Zexion said with a chuckle. "That's good to know, and also a little disturbing."

Axel's grimace deepened. He didn't want to be in a place where others thought of him as a nobody. He would prove to them that he was a somebody, or he would die trying! Axel's arms flashed outwards and the world felt right again as Axel willed the fiery inferno to arise around him. The white walls of the throne room began to glow red as the flames erupted in the air around the red-haired man. The world was right, but something was still missing. Axel screamed out in frustration and that something was suddenly restored to him as two massive chakram appeared in his hands, flames spinning about their sinister points.

"Axel, don't do anything you'll regret," Vexen said sternly. Again, Axel felt a strange want to comply with their orders, but the beast inside of him had already been awakened, and there was little that could calm him down.

Once again, Axel's eyes found their way to the thirteenth throne. He felt a strange soothing breeze overcome him, but as soon as he looked away from the throne to find its source, it was gone, and the beast became even more enraged. With a cry of anguish, Axel leapt into the air, straight up, past Demyx, past Zexion, past Lexaeus and Vexen, too. Axel flew through the air until he was higher than the number one throne. The ceiling was rushing up at him, but it wouldn't be there for long.

Axel flung one of his chakram at the ceiling, flames trailing obediently after it. It slammed into the ivory ceiling and effortlessly broke through. Axel's body slid easily through the hole that it had made, leaving only smokey remains of burnt ivory on the ground as proof that he had even been there.

Demyx looked up at Vexen, didn't say a word, and waved his hand at the burnt ivory as if proving a point. Vexen merely sighed and leaned back in his throne, rubbing his temples.

A monumental crash rang through the silent air above the city as Axel burst through the ceiling of a run down warehouse in a broken down district. He flew into the air until he could see the entirety of the city. Axel stopped, the flames suspending him in midair, and looked around. He looked for it, and looked for it, and at last, his searching eyes found the massive skyscraper that he had seen before.

Whatever it was that had calmed him had to do with that throne, and that throne had to do with that skyscraper. How Axel knew this, he didn't know, but something inside him told the Flurry of Dancing Flames that he would find at least one answer inside that skyscraper.

Tilting forward, Axel began to plummet towards the skyscraper, the flames igniting with every breath that Axel took, sending him towards his target even faster than before. At this rate, it would take less than two minutes before he burst through a wall of the building and began demanding for answers.

To Axel, that was two minutes too long.

.oOo.

Well, there's chapter two for you. Hopefully I didn't leave _too_ many questions unanswered.

If you leave me reviews, Axel gets a cookie!


	3. 3 Unreal Enemy

Here's to new chapters for many days to come: huzzah!

Disclaimer: I don't own KH characters. Don't shoot me.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

3: Unreal Enemy

.oOo.

The wind whistled through the spikes in Axel's hair as he rocketed towards the massive skyscraper in the middle of the strange city in the city that wouldn't focus. Axel's vision was blurred, but not only because of the fuzzy horizon, but also because of what those idiots in the white throne room had said about him. He was _not_ nobody. He would prove to each of them that he was indeed someone.

But how would the skyscraper prove such a thing? Axel had no real clue, his only reason for attacking such a huge structure being a gut feeling. Something inside that building was calling out for him, wanting him to make himself known, and Axel had every intention of fulfilling that want.

"_That's right! You're a Nobody! Be proud!"_

Demyx had called Axel a Nobody. It was strange, but somehow Axel had a feeling that the blonde's definition of "Nobody" was different from Axel's. Although he should have felt some sort of solace from that thought, it only acted to fuel the redhead's anger. _I'll show them that I'm not _any_ type of nobody_.

As the skyscraper drew closer, Axel's feeling of assuredness at his ability to find exactly what he was looking for began to wane. This, too, infuriated him even more, and he sped up his descent upon the city.

_I'll show them _all.

- - -

"How could you let him go? That's _unacceptable_!"

Marluxia stood in the center of a ring of scorch marks on the ivory floor of the white throne room, surrounded by Vexen and the others upon their thrones. Larxene was absent from the meeting.

"It's not like we wanted him to go," Demyx said, annoyed, leaning on his right hand. "He just kinda got mad and left."

Marluxia growled. "At this rate, we'll all be here, and you're content to let Axel go about on his way!"

"_Enough_." Vexen stood up to his full height upon the platform directly in front of his throne. "Marluxia, you are _Number 11_ in this Organization, it's about time that you showed it."

Marluxia sneered up at Vexen. "Oh, so this is just a big power trip for you, Vexen? I understand. 'The Superior is gone, so I'll replace both him and his prodigal student.' I don't think so."

"You may have been the Superior's choice to reign over Castle Oblivion," Vexen said with acid dripping from every syllable, "but you were _far_ from being the 'prodigal student' that you claim to be."

"We all know who was the Superior's favorite," Demyx said with an annoyed huff. He looked down at throne thirteen with an angry glare, then looked back at Marluxia as if he was bored.

Marluxia's fists clenched even tighter. "It doesn't matter. Axel is vital to the plans of this Organization. How could-"

"Axel is vital to _your_ plans, Marluxia, not ours. We do not care to win back what was not ours to begin with," Vexen countered.

"Go, Marluxia. Our business here is finished," Lexaeus said in his amazingly low rumble of a voice.

Marluxia fumed silently for a moment and turned on his heel, storming out of the throne room. Demyx looked up at the other three and sighed with a shake of his head.

"Don't look at us like that," Zexion replied with a smirk. "You knew full well that Marluxia would act this way when he found out that Axel was here."

Demyx merely shrugged.

- - -

At the last moment, a sudden thought had occurred to Axel, and he had slowed his descent into the city, calmly approaching the skyscraper from the front door.

_Breaking down walls isn't going to get me into the favor of whoever or whatever is drawing me here._

Axel stopped outside the front door and gazed up at the magnificence of the skyscraper. He almost felt lightheaded just from looking up that far into the distance. Shaking his head, Axel's mind came across another thought:

_Who the hell am I to make a clean entrance?_

Flames ignited beneath Axel and he grinned mischievously up the side of the building. Leaping into the air, Axel's feet found footing on an outcropping that ran the entire length of the building straight up. Without so much as thinking, the redhead made a blind dash straight up the side of the building, his chakrams suddenly appearing in his hands from excitement. The entire time, he was grinning.

Axel finally reached the top level of windows on the building's side. He stopped, standing perpendicular to the building, and raised a chakram. With a sudden smash, a window vanished in a flurry of flames as Axel hopped inside.

"That's more like it," Axel said as he wiped some glass shards off of his shoulder. He looked around, fingering the curves of his deadly weapons in anticipation. Axel headed down an empty corridor towards a massive double-door. With one booted foot, he kicked in the doors and stepped into what seemed to be an elegant business office. Somewhat confused, Axel looked around, realizing that no one was inside.

"Anyone in here?" Axel shouted. His voice almost seemed to echo in the vastness of the office. When there was no answer, Axel felt that burning rage well up within him again. He reached his arms out and willed the flames –

_No, woah, wait._ Axel grinned and put his arms down. "No need to burn up such nice upholstery, is there? I'm just looking for someone."

Axel's chakram disappeared and he approached the mahogany desk that sat so fat and comfortable in the center of the gigantic office. Upon its smooth, polished surface sat a lovely-looking computer. Axel grinned.

"Let's see where you lead," he said as he turned around the desk and began ticking away on the keyboard. Watching the screen's text whiz by, Axel grew impatient. He tapped his foot as the computer did its magic.

"What's taking so long?" he insisted. In response, the computer continued to log through several pages of text. Axel felt his impatience growing, and he raised his hand, ready to smash the electronic device, when it suddenly stopped with a ding.

The world seemed to shift upwards as Axel felt his feet leaving the ground. The ceiling above him seemed to open up and he was sent soaring through the air, head over heels. He tumbled for what seemed like forever before he felt his center of gravity shift and he landed on his back on a cold metal surface, staring up at magnificent glass windows overhead. Beyond those was the total blackness of space with bright stars twinkling happily.

Axel sat up and rubbed his head. "Stupid computer," he mumbled. He made it to his feet before he heard footsteps approaching. He dodged behind a large pillar and peeked around to see a…duck? Yeah, it was a duck. A duck wearing a blue hat and vest.

Axel's eyes widened. A white duck, walking and swinging its wings as if it were human, wearing blue. He'd seen that before…

"Wait!" Axel cried, showing himself from behind the pillar. The duck squawked in surprise and turned to look at Axel with a look that could only be described as pissed off.

The duck finally seemed to recognize Axel as being in front of him, because he suddenly quacked in alarm and shook his head. Finally, he threw up a finger and yelled what sounded like Axel to be, "Guards!"

"What? Wait!" Axel cried, but before he could move, strange white creatures that seemed to lack skeletons had surrounded him. They moved in weird, liquid-like movements and had heads split open by zippers. They had no feet, not did they have hands, but instead had wicked-looking points at the ends of their four limbs.

"Who the hell are you?" Axel grimaced at the new creatures. He flicked his wrists and his chakrams appeared in his hands. He was getting used to that feeling. Axel grinned and he spit on the ground before looking back at the creatures. "Doesn't matter who you are," he said through his grin, "you're nobody."

The creatures jumped forward, attempting to tackle Axel. Axel had seen such a move coming, however, and had leapt high into the air to rain down his twin weapons down upon the five congregated creatures. They evaporated as soon as the chakrams split them open, turning into fine mist that dissipated instantly. The chakrams returned to Axel as he knew they would, and he landed gingerly on the cold, empty ground.

Brandishing his weapons at the duck, Axel chuckled. "That all you got, featherface?"

The duck wasn't amused. "_Guards_!"

This time even stranger creatures appeared. They seemed to morph into something new every time they took a step. Originally, or at least from what Axel could tell, they had two legs and a pointed beak in the center. That was the entirety of their being. Yet every time they placed a foot down, they seemed to shift shape into something different. One morphed into a deadly looking spear and charged Axel, who, caught off guard, barely avoided being completely run through. In response to the attack, Axel twirled around and brought one of his weapons down on the spear's back and it evaporated, same as the first creatures.

Two more spears charged Axel, but this time he had been expecting their advances. One chakram disappeared, leaving Axel his right hand to grab one spear and twirl it to parry the second. Using the first spear, Axel skewered another, unchanged creature, causing both of them to evaporate, leaving him with three more to deal with. Taking the second spear, Axel slammed it into the ground, causing it to stick awkwardly out from the metal surface. The second chakram reappeared in Axel's hand and he chopped the suspended spear in half, letting go of his weapon at the last moment to swing around him in a wide arc, taking out both of the remaining creatures.

Standing back up again, Axel looked for the duck who could call these strange creatures, but he did not see it anywhere.

"Where are you?" Axel asked playfully. "If we play hide and seek, can I be it first? Okay, then. I'll start counting!"

Axel saw a flash of movement from behind a pillar and his grin widened devilishly. "One…"

The movement stopped, but Axel knew that it was still there. He took three full strides before continuing. "Two…"

Still, no movement, but Axel wasn't fooled. "Three…Four…Five…Six…Seven…" Axel was within striking distance of the pillar, but he wanted to be within breathing distance to land the final blow. "Eight…Nine…"

"Ten!"

A bolt of lightning rocketed down from the sky and blasted the ground at Axel's feet, throwing him off-balance. A gust of wind pushed at his front side and Axel flew backwards, into a pillar farther away than the redhead had been before playing the little game.

The duck emerged from behind the pillar brandishing a heart-shaped wand that was framed by angelic wings. Axel was confused; the person who had said "Ten!" had a different voice than the duck. The redhead looked around and he saw, on the level above himself, overseeing the encounter via a balcony, a young man with spikey brown hair. He wore interesting black clothing striped with yellow and red in places. In his hand was a massive key, silver with a yellow handle that the boy's hand fit perfectly, as if it were made for him.

That key… That boy… 

"What are you doing here, Nobody?" the boy asked, pointing the key at Axel. Axel felt a cold shiver go down his spine. He could feel his brow becoming wet with sweat. Adrenaline was flooding his system and everything in the room became brighter as his eyes adjusted to see things more clearly. Axel was confused, but not for long. It didn't take long for him to realize that he was experiencing an emotion that he couldn't ever remember experiencing: fear.

That key was horrid, horrid destruction, or a wonderful salvation. It depended on the wielder. It would save or destroy worlds, all based upon the will of the user. It was no ordinary key.

The Keyblade… 

The word rang in Axel's head as if he'd been listening to it for thousands of years. He knew full well that the boy holding the Keyblade was its rightful owner, and he had every capability of finishing Axel off, even at that distance. Axel's fear heightened as the boy took a step forward, his face stern and his voice sterner.

"I asked you a question, Nobody!" he cried. "Why are you out of the holding cell?"

Holding cell? Despite his overwhelming fear, Axel raised an eyebrow. Axel didn't belong in a holding cell.

"Answer me!" the boy cried. "I swear I'll kill you if you don't. It's not like countless Nobodies have already fallen to my blade."

Axel's other eyebrow lifted and his fear began to die off. This was his afterlife – he couldn't die. Not a second time. Could he?

Axel slowly pushed up against the cold floor and took a ready stance facing the young man. "I don't belong in any holding cell," he said with more confidence than he felt, "I belong with something here. It led me here."

The boy's eyes grew cold. Something Axel had said had struck a chord within him. "There is no one here but myself," the boy said in a huff. "If you do not belong in a holding cell, it means you don't exist. Do you exist?" he asked, the Keyblade still pointed menacingly at Axel's forehead.

Axel thought about that. He had no heart. It was impossible to exist without a heart. Therefore, he didn't exist. But if he had no heart, how could he feel the fear that he had originally felt facing this young man? It was impossible to feel emotion without a heart, even Axel knew that. _Even me…_ Axel looked almost bewildered before he regained his composure and answered, "Of course I exist."

The boy's face grew as hard as granite. "Then you belong in a cell. Donald, detain him!"

The duck took a threatening step forward, issuing Axel to take one as well. He could take a duck. His chakrams appeared in his hands and he swung them to and fro, getting the feeling for them back into his fingers.

"Well, fine then, c'mon!" Axel cried, a grin spreading across his face. He leapt forward, his chakrams ready to strike.

"No!"

Four blue daggers lanced into the ground, sticking out of them similarly to how Axel had forced that spear creature. Lightning struck the daggers from somewhere overhead and began to seethe in the air around them. Axel was forced to stop, or risk electrocution.

"What the hell?" he hissed, backing up. The boy and Donald were also watching their footing.

A black-robed figure landed in front of Axel, facing the daggers. It turned around, its tiny frame liquid in motion but powerful nonetheless. It reached out and grabbed Axel's arm, despite his efforts to move away from it.

"You _idiot_!" the figure hissed, and Axel immediately came to recognize the voice.

"Larxene?" Axel blurted, surprised.

"Shh!" she hissed. "Get out of here, now!" She brandished a fifth blue dagger and threw it onto the ground. It began to spark and a large circle of electricity appeared in the air in front of her. "Go!" she cried, pushing Axel through the circle.

Axel fell for what seemed like hours. He had initially been yelling, but eventually became bored with it, as the fall seemed to be taking its time to deliver him anywhere important. Finally, he landed on his feet on the cold concrete street in front of the magnificent skyscraper that he had minutes ago scaled on foot. A figure appeared on the road behind him and he turned to raise a chakram against it. He lowered it when he realized that it was an Oranization member – the same one that had just interrupted his battle.

Larxene did not lower her hood. "You fool, back to the hideout!" she cried, seizing his arm and practically dragging him across the road and into the alleyways. Axel seized control of his arm again and the two of them continued to run for a few minutes before Larxene pointed at the same manhole that they had arrived at earlier that day.

Before opening the way to the sewer, Axel turned and looked back at the skyscraper. Dozens of strange creatures were dropping from nowhere in the sky, falling to the road around the building, scattering in their search for the challenger of their captor. Axel's eyes narrowed and he took a step towards them, but Larxene grabbed his wrist and shook her head, causing the hood to bobble back and forth.

"No, Axel. It is not a battle that we wish to fight," she said. "Let's go."

Axel stared at Larxene's shrouded face for a moment, then back at the masses of creatures searching the city. He sighed, realizing that she would not let him go, and opened the manhole. As he dropped into the darkness of the sewer, he realized that something was amiss with the entire scenario. He _didn't_ exist. Why did he tell the boy that he did?

And who the hell was that kid, anyway? Axel knew him. He had a personal relationship with him – they…

Who was he?

Axel followed Larxene down the sewer system, the entire time lost in thought about the confrontation. He'd recognized the duck immediately, recognized the Keyblade immediately, he knew the boy from…from where?

"Don't worry, Axel," Larxene said. Axel was surprised by her tone of voice – it seemed to actually carry a concerned tone to it.

"About what?" Axel asked, his voice sarcastic and harsh.

Larxene's answer was simple, but could not have sent Axel's mind into a more horrid torture: "You'll remember him soon enough."

.oOo.

Questions left unanswered…New questions revealed…

Wtf is going on?

Find on next time – trust me, some things will _definitely_ be revealed in the next chapter.

Review and the crickets at night will sing your name for a week.

(I wonder how many people would buy that?)


	4. 4 Naught's Existence

Hello again!

Disclaimer: if you say that I have ever once claimed that I own anyone that has to do with Kingdom Hearts, you're lying and will die a most painful and deserving death.

Have a nice read. :'D

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

4: Naught's Existence

.oOo.

"_What were you thinking?_"

Axel raised a pinkie finger to shove into his ear to try to rub out the ringing. "I get it, I get it," he muttered, "I was a bit outta line. So sue me."

Marluxia's face was beet red and his fists clenched tight. He teeth were clenched, if possible, even tighter than his fists. Larxene was standing in front of him, between him and Axel, scratching the side of her head and chuckling nervously.

"Don't worry, Marluxia, I got him out of there in time," she said timidly.

"That _doesn't_ mean it has been fixed!" Marluxia shouted. The three of them were standing in a large closet in the warehouse in which the Organization hid. Axel still didn't understand why they chose to hide in a warehouse; some of them, he felt, were more powerful than he was, and he was making short work of his enemies in the stronghold in the sky.

Larxene sighed and shrugged with a shake of her head. "I give up. You're on your own, Axel." She stepped to the side, allowing Marluxia a straight shot at Axel's throat, if he decided to take it.

Axel chuckled as nervously as Larxene had. "I guess you're mad, huh?" he asked with a tentative grin on his face.

In response, Marluxia merely continued to boil over in one place.

Axel leaned over and whispered to Larxene, "I don't get it. What was so important that I stay out of that place?" he asked.

Larxene rolled her eyes. "You really are clueless, aren't you? I doubt it's only your memory that's giving us problems by now." Axel's concerned face changed into hostility, but before he could act on it, Larxene nodded. "That is the enemy's stronghold, The Castle That Is."

"That..Is?" Axel repeated, confusion creeping into his mind.

Larxene nodded, then opened an eye to look over at Marluxia, who was still frozen in rage. "I give him about five minutes before he breaks free of that paralysis that his anger has put him in, then you had better not be in the same room."

Axel glanced at Marluxia and nervously chuckled his agreement. Back to Larxene, "So who, exactly, was that kid in the castle?" he asked.

Larxene's eyes shot open. "Oh, man, if you don't remember _that_, we need to have you examined. Go talk to Zexion to see if he can help you regain your memory. I am _not_ getting involved with that kid," she added with a cross of her arms and a glance at a wall somewhere else in the room.

Axel huffed and straightened out his cloak. "Maybe I will," he said gruffly before turning away from Marluxia and walking out of the room.

Larxene heard the door shut and she looked behind her to see that Axel was gone. A feeling of dread came over her and she looked at Marluxia, who was beginning to twitch, a sign that he was coming out of his frozen status. She gulped and made a break for the door, but quickly felt the knob stick both ways. Axel had locked her in!

"Axel, this isn't funny!" Larxene cried, pounding on the door.

On the other side of the door, Axel chuckled. "I think it's hysterical," he said in not quite a whisper before heading down the hall towards the throne room. He entered as if he owned the room and stalked his way to the center. Vexen and the others all looked down at him in a mixture of curiosity and rage.

"Didn't think you'd be back so soon," Demyx admitted with a chuckle.

Axel shrugged. "Wouldn't have come back," he said. "Larxene brought me back."

Vexen raised an eyebrow. "Did she, now? We'll have to thank her for that later, then, won't we?" he asked the others, who all nodded.

Lexaeus gazed down at Axel. "So why have you returned to us?" he asked. "Surely Marluxia would have welcomed you back with open arms," he added with a smirk, and Axel heard Demyx cackle a few times.

Axel crossed his arms and looked up at the massive man sitting on the fifth throne. "He's actually kinda…pissed," he said with a laugh. "Anyway, Larxene told me that I should come see Zexion about seeing if we can't get my memory restored."

Vexen looked down at Zexion, whose eyes had lit up. "Are you up to it, Zexion?" the number four asked.

Zexion's eyes twinkled. "Of course," he said in nearly a whisper. "I can restore everything to the way it used to be," he added with an extra twinkle in his eye that Axel wasn't sure that he liked.

"Then begin as soon as you can," Vexen said sternly. "I feel another presence."

Zexion looked up at Vexen. "What? Another presence? Who?"

Vexen looked _up_ the circle of thrones to rest his eyes on the second throne. Zexion and Lexaeus gasped.

"The master of space has arrived," Demyx said sullenly. "It's a sad day when we see a familiar face for the first time."

Axel was lost. Who were they talking about? He looked up at the throne and had to blink, for he had thought he'd seen a man with an eye patch sitting there. When he looked again, the man was gone.

"This is a good opportunity to fill Axel in," Vexen told Zexion. "Go find him before Larxene does."

Axel grinned. "Larxene and Marluxia are locked in a closet," he said.

Vexen raised an eyebrow. "…Why?"

"I already said that Marluxia was angry with me," Axel said with a grin.

- - -

The warehouse was beginning to become fuzzy to Axel, despite the fact that he and Zexion had not left the city. They had both raised their hoods and were stalking quickly and quietly through the back alleys towards a strange energy signature that even Axel could feel now. Along the way, Zexion was doing his best to help Axel understand.

"Ask me a question," Zexion commanded. Axel felt that strange tug to do whatever Zexion asked him to again, but this time he relented and nodded.

"Why did Vexen call this Nonexistence?" the redhead asked.

"To answer that, Axel, I must explain what you are. Or rather, what you _were_." The two of them hopped over a small barricade that blocked an alleyway. They continued on. "Axel, you are dead."

"So I've heard," Axel said dryly.

"And when you were alive," Zexion continued, "you didn't exist. You had no heart."

Axel nodded. So his thought process had left him with the right idea.

"You were a Nobody, Axel. A very powerful Nobody, strong enough to be enlisted by the Organization."

"What is the Organization?" Axel asked. "What is it we're organizing for? And what's a Nobody?"

Zexion opened a manhole and motioned for Axel to head in. After they were both in the sewer, the blue-haired man continued answering Axel's questions. "A Nobody is the empty shell left behind when a man becomes a Heartless."

_Heartless…_the word rang in Axel's mind, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it before.

"We were powerful Nobodies that joined together," Zexion continued, "so that we could use the power of Kingdom Hearts to reclaim our hearts and exist once again."

"Kingdom Hearts," Axel whispered, stopping dead in the sewer. Zexion stopped and looked back at him, waiting patiently. "The moon. It was…"

Zexion nodded. "Yes. The moon above our homeworld was Kingdom Hearts. It was the physical form of Kingdom Hearts that could manifest the Door that would lead us to the Heart of All Worlds."

"All of us wanted hearts," Axel said hazily. "That's why we fought what's-his-name."

Zexion nodded. "We must continue. Let's go." He turned down the sewer and Axel followed closely behind.

"So who was the kid in the Castle That Is?" Axel asked.

Zexion was the one to stop this time, but this time from surprise. He looked back at Axel. "You don't remember him?" he asked.

Axel's blank stare gave Zexion all the answer he needed. Zexion quickly turned his back to Axel and hunched over in thought. Axel couldn't see it, but Zexion began to grin wildly as a thought crossed his mind. He straightened up and looked back at Axel.

"His name is Sora, Axel."

Axel nodded. "I know. I wanted to know-" Axel stopped. How could he say, "I know"?

"Guess that answers that," Axel said with a chuckle. "So why is he the lord and master around here, anyway? I thought he was low spot on the totem pole."

"It is the way of Nonexistence," Zexion answered as they began to move once more. "In life, we were stronger than Sora and his companions until he rejoined his fellow Keybearers, Riku and Mickey."

Axel thought as he moved. That made sense – Sora was powerful, but the Organization could have easily destroyed him. Riku and Mickey, however, were beyond Axel's memory.

"There are more than one Keybearer?" Axel asked.

Zexion merely made an affirming grunt. The two came to a ladder leading to the street, which Zexion went up first. Soon the two of them were standing amidst what looked to be living houses. That brought up another question.

"Here's one, Zexy," Axel said with a motion of his hand. Zexion grumbled – he'd hoped that Axel wouldn't remember what he used to call him.

"What?" Zexion asked dully.

"Why is the Organization hiding in a warehouse?"

"It is the way of Nonexistence," Zexion grumbled. "In life, we were stronger than Sora. Here, the roles have reversed. The Nobodies truly exist once more, and those with hearts are mere dreams with physical bodies. Sora is the leader of those who existed during our lives because he is the one who began the downfall of the Nobodies. As such, he enslaves all Nobodies that he sees here in Nonexistence."

"One bad kid," Axel commented.

"Quite," Zexion agreed gruffly. They were moving beyond the houses now, out of the city. Axel could feel the ground beginning to turn rough and rocky again. "In the afterlife, the Organization has changed its role, as well: we defy Sora and his lackies in the high hopes to regain freedom for all the Nobodies in Nonexistence."

"That's good, right?" Axel asked. "So, why did Larxene stop me when I was about to go toe-to-toe with our good friend in the Castle?"

"Because it is a fool's errand to run into the enemy stronghold when the enemy cannot be defeated," Zexion replied harshly. Axel turned around to look at the city, which was becoming fuzzy in the distance.

"What do you mean he can't be beat?" Axel demanded, turning back to follow Zexion.

"Unlike us, he has a counterpart that is still alive," Zexion explained crossly. "His projection here is untouchable until that counterpart dies."

"So we're basically stuck under his thumb until he kicks the bucket," Axel muttered.

Zexion nodded. "That is why we're biding our time."

"Aren't you scared he'll find the hideout sooner or later?" Axel asked.

"That warehouse is our third base of operations," Zexion replied. "Sora's forces have found us twice before, and we have had to relocate because of it."

Axel scratched his head through his hood. "Then the throne room…"

"It was created by a combination of Vexen's and Lexaeus' elements of ice and earth."

"Oh." Axel didn't quite understand that, but let it slide. But a question did pop up in his mind. "So why are there so many thrones?" he asked.

"We are Organization XIII. There are thirteen members." Zexion paused for a moment. "Well, twelve now. One was a traitor. He doesn't even belong in Nonexistence."

"Traitor," Axel said. The word was tugging at the back of his mind. "Larxene said I was a traitor."

"Lies," Zexion said quickly. "Larxene and Marluxia are the only traitors that were allowed to live. We were able to use them even in their rebellion for our own intentions. That is why they still exist here in Nonexistence. You never left our services, but instead acted as a double-agent for us."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Double-agent, huh? Well, Marluxia seems pretty convinced that I belong with him and Larxene."

"They still do not share our vision," Zexion replied sternly. Axel could no longer see the city at all. They were pretty far out in the middle of nowhere.

"Larxene is under the order of Marluxia to retrieve all Organization members before we have a chance to," Zexion said. Axel was surprised – he hadn't asked anything this time. "Together, they try to brainwash the recovered member into believing that they had served Marluxia during their lifetime. That is a lie. Only Larxene has ever served under Marluxia's command."

"Which is why we're out here, right?" Axel asked. "Because the Organization members who die are sent here without their memory, right?"

"Correct," Zexion said with a nod. "You recovered your memory quite rapidly, though. It is still incomplete, but we're patching things up the best we can."

Axel nodded. "And I appreciate it, to be sure," he muttered. "Thing is, there's something weird about the thirteenth throne that catches my eye."

"Ignore it," Zexion said, almost as quickly as the last time he had snapped at Axel. "That throne belongs to the traitor that is no longer allowed here. We keep it as a reminder to each other that none of us can be trusted to our word, only by the word of the Superior."

"The Superior…"

Zexion stopped, issuing Axel to stop as well. "I sense him around here," he said. The two of them looked around, but they could only see the white landscape around them.

Axel felt a small energy spike exactly where he was standing, which could mean only one thing.

Axel looked straight up and gasped as a man with black hair pulled back into a ponytail with gray streaks through it sat _upside-down_ in the air. His ponytail was hanging straight down to the ground and he was grinning down at Axel.

"Yo."

Axel backed up, startled. Zexion noticed and looked up. "Xigbar!" he cried.

The upside-down man gave a shrug. "I guess? Is that my name?" he asked.

Zexion nodded.

"Could you explain why I can hang upside-down like this?" he asked. "I feel like I should be getting light-headed, but I'm not."

"Mind coming down here?" Axel asked. "Lookin' at you up there's hurting my neck."

"Heh. As if. You want me, you gotta come get me."

Zexion rolled his eyes. He had never had a taste for Xigbar's "adventure hero" attitude.

"And why should we do that?" Axel asked, crossing his arms.

Xigbar thought for a moment. "Hmm. I don't know. That's a good point. I'll be right down…after I figure out how."

Axel rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Axel," Zexion hissed. "I sense Larxene's presence."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "But she was locked in a closet…"

"Damn you!"

Axel turned around to see a red-faced Larxene stalking quickly up to him. She reared back an arm and lashed out, striking Axel straight across the cheek. He staggered back, holding a hand to the imprint on his face.

"What the hell was that for?" he demanded.

"How _dare_ you betray us!" Larxene cried. "I can't _believe_ you! After everything we've been through!"

Axel, completely at a loss for words, looked back at Zexion, who made a cut-off motion with his hand at his throat. Axel took the motion for what it was meant to be: a sign that meant that she was lying to him. He looked back at Larxene with a smug grin on his face.

"Axel plays for the Organization, Toots. Got it memorized?"

Larxene huffed and vanished into a cloud of lightning, causing Axel to back up a step.

Axel pointed at where Larxene used to be and looked at Zexion. "How can she do that?" he asked.

Zexion's answer raised both of Axel's eyebrows. "All Organization members can do that. Try it. I want to get back to the hideout quickly."

Axel blinked. "Why didn't you do that to get us here?" he demanded.

Zexion gave a demure chuckle. "I wouldn't have had the chance to fill you in on everything that way, now would I?" he asked.

Axel growled, but he knew that his blue-haired comrade was right. Axel took a deep breath, ready to give it a try. He threw out his hands and the chakram appeared in their proper places. Spinning them expertly, Axel made a silent wish to the flames that rested within his subconscious to take him back to the Organization. With but a twist of his wrists, a ring of fire appeared in the air near him, large enough for all three men to walk comfortably through.

"Not bad," Zexion said with a nod. "I'm impressed it worked so well on your first try. Now, then. Let's go."

.oOo.

Hope that clears up some stuff. Zexion sure is smart. And Xigbar promises to be fun to write for. :3

Review and everyone gets frying pan hats! In the shape of Axel's face! O.O


	5. 5 Insubstantial Memory

Sorry that this post is a little late. I'd started it last night, but got writer's block and scrapped what I'd written up to that point. I figured I could just write it today.

I'd like to offer my sincerest gratitude to all of you who have reviewed this story so far – it has received more hits, faves, and reviews than any of my other stories here on FF for its length, and I'm really grateful. It's the good reviews that really drive authors to better themselves. Please help me out by reporting any plot holes you may see, spelling errors, grammatical confusion, or anything you feel like saying. Since posting chapter four, I've seen quite a few new names in regard to who is viewing this story, and I want it to be the best story that it can be for you guys.

Disclaimer: For the last time, I'm going to say this: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS CHARACTERS. If you're one of those sadistic people who love to bug people about this kinda stuff, I hope you have horrible nightmares! (Note: no one has bugged me about this)

Enjoy.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

5: Insubstantial Memory

.oOo.

Xigbar was quickly and warmly welcomed back by Vexen, Lexaeus, and Demyx as Axel and Zexion walked him into the round throne room. Smiles spread across their faces as the patch-eyed man stood and took a bow. Axel knew, however, that Xigbar couldn't remember a single one of them, and he would need someone to help him come back to being an Organization member.

Two other, unkind faces were also sitting in the room: Marluxia and Larxene were sitting in their respective thrones, sulking silently. Axel noticed the horridly cross look on Larxene's face as she stared him down. He merely grinned over at her as if he'd won some competition.

"It is a pleasure to have you back, Xigbar," Vexen said, spreading his arms out as he stood up. He descended to the floor, as did Lexaeus, to greet their Number Two in person.

"It's nice to be back," Xigbar said as he took Vexen's hands in a friendly handshake. "Now would you be so kind as to tell me where the hell I am?" he asked without a shake in his smile.

Vexen laughed more heartily than Axel had heard him speak since he'd arrived in this strange place. "Of course, of course. Someone will fill you in to help your memory resurface."

Xigbar nodded. "Good." He took a look up at the empty thrones. "Say, uh, is wunnathose mine?" he asked, pointing vaguely at the curving wall.

Vexen's lit up face continued to shine. "Yes, it is," he said with a smile. Axel nearly shuddered; Vexen smiling was a sight to see, but good or bad was still up in the air. Vexen had turned to point at the second throne. "That one there is yours," he said to their one-eyed friend.

Xigbar grinned up at the throne as if it were candy. He looked at Vexen's throne, two seats down. "And you're number four, right?" he asked.

Vexen nodded in response.

"Does that mean I'm your superior?" Xigbar asked, the excitement in his voice obvious to Axel.

Vexen nodded again. "It does, but until you have recovered your memory, I'm afraid that you will need to leave the decisions to me. After you have fully recovered, I will gladly pass leadership of the Organization off to you."

Axel heard a cough from behind him. Marluxia had caused it, and Axel's ears had seemed to pick up something similar to "Leader" in the cough. Larxene had begun to giggle quietly afterwards, and Axel was sure that his ears had not lied to him. The redhead's response was a smirk that none of the other Organization members took note of.

A thought then occurred to Axel. "So if Xigbar is number two," he began, "what does that make me?"

Zexion turned up to a throne not far from his own. Following his comrade's gaze, Axel saw the eighth throne. Something inside Axel seemed to click and he realized that it was, indeed, his throne. He suddenly felt embarrassed that he had asked. He felt ask if he should have known that the eighth throne was his since he arrived.

Axel concentrated on the throne and felt himself rising up to see it. He came to step upon the small platform in front of it and turned to face out at the rest of the room. Almost gingerly, Axel sat down in his throne. The voices of the Organization members below him drained from his ears and the room seemed to tower down beneath him. A strange sense of belonging seeped into Axel's entire being. This throne _was_ his. It was where he was supposed to be.

Axel looked down upon the ivory floor. Instead of seeing the busy conversation between Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Xigbar, Axel saw a single boy in a black cloak. He had bright blue eyes and short, spiky blonde hair. He was very young – mid teens, from the looks of it. In his left hand was a strange black blade that seemed to shine with dangerous points. It was shaped very strangely, as if it were a giant –

Axel's eyes widened as he realized what he was staring at. The boy was carrying a Keyblade! But Sora was the Keybearer, not this kid! What was Axel seeing?

A sense of worry came over the redhead as a prominent figure appeared in the tallest throne in the room. He had long white hair draped down his back and a dark complexion. His eyes were entirely devoid of emotion and his face was stern. He stared down at the boy on the floor with that unwavering stare. It was a stare that the boy was not returning. Instead, hate seemed to radiate from the boy's form. His bright eyes were narrowed in anger and his lip was curled in a snarl. His grip on the Keyblade was tight and his entire body was shaking.

_What is this I'm seeing?_ Axel asked himself. Instead of saying anything, he sat entirely still, hoping that something in this vision would explain it all for him.

"You can't be serious!" The boy's voice seemed to echo through the room as Axel realized that he wasn't actually there.

"I am entirely serious." The man in the tallest throne had a deep, menacing voice. Axel was surprised that such a voice could belong to such a man. "You are _not_ allowed to see him."

The boy on the floor seemed to explode in rage, but he somehow contained his composure. He began pacing around the floor, taking glances up at the man in the throne. Axel took the silent moment as an opportunity to look around the other thrones. He saw several familiar faces, but only had names for two of them: Xigbar and Demyx were in their respective places, but the third, seventh, and tenth thrones were also filled. Axel felt that he should know their names, but not a single one came to mind. Defeated by his still-lacking memory, Axel turned back to the pacing boy.

"Why am I forbidden to meet him? I only want to know what he's like," the boy shouted.

"This is not the time for you to see your Other," Number One said, his face still completely stoic.

Other… 

"Then _when is?_" the boy cried. "I've come to you four times already, Xemnas, I don't think you're being fair with me!"

Number One, Xemnas, stood up at this and Axel saw his face contort into anger. His voice was loud and harsh, causing every face in the room except the boy's to cringe. "_That is enough!_ I am the leader of this Organization, and you shall obey _my_ command! Your Other is dangerous to both you and this Organization. You are not to see him! You see what he has done to our numbers. You know what he has done to _us_. There shall be no contact between the two of you! I forbid it!"

"Some leader," the boy countered. Axel was thrown back by the boy's determination. Xemnas had even made Axel jump by his shouts, but the boy seemed completely unshaken. "You sit in here as your people go out and die. When will it stop, Xemnas? Maybe I can stop the killing. Maybe he will listen to me. There has to be a better way!"

Axel felt a tinge of jealousy for the boy. He seemed so angry. His voice carried the hope of what he was saying. He…he seemed to have a heart.

But he doesn't. How is that possible? 

Xemnas' reply came in a deadly whisper that made everyone in the room, including the boy on the floor, to lean in to hear him. "You will do as you are instructed, Roxas."

Axel felt as if a truck had slammed into him. His head snapped around to look down at the boy, who was fuming silently. His face was turning red. His grip on the Keyblade tightened even further, if it were possible. Axel felt…sorry. Sorry for Roxas. But at the same time, the redhead felt something else in the vision. There was something else he hadn't noticed before.

Axel stood up and stepped out onto the small platform in front of his throne and turned around. As he had guessed, he was still sitting there, staring down at Roxas. His own eyes were filled with what seemed to be worry. Guilt. Something very influencial was running through Axel's head at that moment.

_Don't worry, Roxas. You'll meet him some day. Just not today. Don't push Xemnas too much…_

Axel turned and looked back down at Roxas, letting out an audible gasp as he saw the boy storming out of the room. Axel leapt down from his throne, but as soon as his feet lost contact with the platform, the familiar faces disappeared. Xemnas was gone, and Roxas' retreating form had vanished, replaced by the busybodies that were Axel's comrades in the afterlife.

Axel landed soundlessly, but not without acquiring the attention of the others in the room. He raised a hand to rub the back of his head with a nervous chuckle. He felt like an idiot.

"Is something wrong, Axel?" Vexen asked.

Axel hesitated. He wanted to know, but he was afraid to ask. Zexion had called the thirteenth member a traitor that hadn't deserved to live in Nonexistence. It was true, Axel had not seen which throne was Roxas', but something inside him told Axel that Roxas was indeed the most recent addition to the Organization.

"_That throne belongs to the traitor that is no longer allowed here. We keep it as a reminder to each other that none of us can be trusted to our word, only by the word of the Superior."_ Zexion's words about the owner of the thirteenth throne rang in Axel's ears. He shouldn't bring up such a person to the others. Axel felt that it would only serve to upset at least one of them.

"Something's wrong," Larxene chimed. "What is it?" she called from her throne of number twelve.

Marluxia steepled his fingers and watched Axel carefully, which Axel could feel boring down on him. He glanced up at Marluxia, but quickly averted his gaze, as if he was worried that his eyes would convey his thoughts.

"No, don't worry about me," Axel said with a nervous chuckle. He waved his hands in front of him as if to try to dismiss the subject. "I need a little fresh air. I think I'm going to step out front for a few minutes. I won't go far," he added as soon as he saw Zexion's mouth begin to open. The blue-haired man seemed satisfied and turned to face Xigbar again.

Once outside the throne room, Axel breathed out a sigh of relief. One obstacle down. He needed some time to think. Axel concentrated on the desolate landscape of Nonexistence and a ring of fire appeared in front of him, just large enough for him to hop through. He knew where it led and he wanted to take it.

- - -

"You can't go against the Organization!" 

"_No one would miss me."_

"_I've got these icky orders to destroy you."_

"_Axel?"_

"_You remember now?"_

"_Y-Yeah…"_

"_The Roxas I know is long gone."_

"_You really do remember! I'm so _touched_."_

"_We're…best friends."_

Seemingly random thoughts shot through Axel's head as he lay in the barren wasteland of Nonexistence, staring up at the blank white sky. The thoughts seemed to be quotes spoken by either himself or someone Axel was straining to remember. Blue eyes kept flashing in front of Axel's face, but the rest of the face wouldn't manifest for him.

Axel concentrated on the memory of the throne room's vision. Surely there had to be a clue there.

"_You can't be serious!_"

Axel's eyes shot wide open. The boy's voice was the same as the one who spoke the memories. Roxas was the missing person from Axel's memory!

Axel sat up quickly and gave a great laugh. He was so relieved to have pieced something together on his own.

Lying back down, however, Axel realized that something was still wrong. The feelings that he had felt during the vision of Roxas' hearing with Xemnas and the obvious attachment that Axel had to the quotes in his scattered memory were proof that Roxas was a very important person.

"_We're…best friends."_

The white sky seemed to dim and turn a bright amber color. Clouds lazily strolled across it. Confused, Axel sat up and looked around. He found himself sitting on the stone street of a busy little town. Buildings rose up on all sides of him and he could see down the hill a sort of event ring where people were milling about.

Axel made it to his feet in time to see one of the strange creatures that Sora had called on him back in the Castle That Is. Axel jumped back and readied himself to call his chakrams, but the redhead quickly realized that the creature wasn't interested in him at all. Instead, it and its brethren were very interested in a teenage blonde boy in a white blazer and baggy white pants. The boy stood in a ready stance, a simple Keyblade exactly like Sora's in his hand.

_Roxas…_ Axel could see the boy clearly for who he was: a young boy named Roxas who had been very confused at the time.

Axel's eyes found themselves staring at himself, his chakrams at the ready, staring Roxas down. They seemed to be squaring off against each other.

"I remember…" Axel walked up to Roxas, who seemed to be frozen in place despite the fact that he was still blinking and breathing. Axel and the strange creatures were also moving, but frozen in time. Axel reached out to touch Roxas' shoulder, but his hand passed through the blonde's form.

"I was so happy when Roxas told me that we were best friends," Axel whispered. "I felt like part of me was finally coming back to make me whole. But then…I asked him…"

The forms regained their place in time, but it seemed to be different. The Keyblade and Axel's chakrams were nowhere in sight. Axel, unarmed, leaned forward, a smile on his face.

"That's great! But, uh, you know, gotta make sure an' all, so, uh…" He thought for a moment, then a great idea came to his mind.

"What's our boss's name?" he asked of Roxas, whose eyes filled with uncertainty. Axel's face drooped. "I can't believe this…"

Axel hung his head and turned away from the memory. "That hesitation destroyed every shred of hope I'd had at that point," he said quietly.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" an accented voice asked.

Axel turned around to see the barren outlands of Nonexistence again. But now he found that he was not alone. Instead, he was in the company of a blonde man with a goatee who wore a red cape and white robe. He had strange orange eyes and he seemed to know where he was, despite being so far away from the city.

"Who are you?" Axel growled, his chakrams appearing in his grasp.

The man, whose hands were locked behind his back, chuckled. "I am someone who may be able to help you."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says Ansem the Wise."

The other eyebrow replaced the first one. "Who?"

The man sighed and nodded his head. "Ah, you wouldn't know me. We never met in person while we both lived."

Axel stood up straight and his chakrams disappeared. "You…you're not a Nobody," he said.

Ansem shook his head. "I am not. Therefore, I do not exist in Nonexistence. But I _can_ help you. You see, I know who you are, Axel, and I know your relationship with the boy named Roxas."

Axel stepped back and his chakrams reappeared. "What do you know about Roxas?" he demanded, the flames he knew so well growing within him.

"Calm yourself," Ansem said sternly. "I mean you no ill will. I know that Roxas does not exist in Nonexistence because he was able to rejoin with his Other."

Axel hadn't heard this! "His Other? Who is his Other?"

"None other than the Keybearer known as Sora."

Another stagger backwards from the redheaded Organization member. "What? That's impossible!" he cried. "Roxas and I are friends! How could Sora be his Other?"

"I can explain it all in time, if you truly wish," Ansem replied, "but I can also arrange it so that you can ask him yourself."

Axel's chakrams disappeared again, the redhead's system flooding with adrenaline. His pulse was rushing. "You can do _what_, old man?"

Ansem's answer came in the same tone of voice as the rest of his conversation, but it still left its mark on Axel's ears. "I can send you back to the living world in order to speak with Roxas."

.oOo.

DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN!

I have the next chapter planned out to be a doozy, so don't miss it, and don't forget to review! The next chappie will get here faster if you do.

Thanks, hope you enjoyed. Next chapter should be up ASAP.


	6. 6 Real Hope

I must say that I'm really enjoying writing this story. Thanks for your support, everyone!

No disclaimer. I handled that _last_ chapter. You know what it says.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

6: Real Hope

.oOo.

"So why are you doing this, old man?" Axel asked as he followed Ansem to wherever it was he was being taken. The blank landscape was slowly drifting by as they walked and Axel had a feeling that they weren't going to get anywhere any time soon.

"Do I need a reason to help someone?" Ansem asked without looking back at his traveling partner.

Axel couldn't argue with that, but it still seemed fishy. "Not really, just wondering is all."

"This is a backwards world," Ansem said. "The Nobodies exist, the real people don't, and Sora is a cruel dictator over those he has slain. I, too, have suffered from the reversal of my being; in life, I wanted revenge on the Organization for taking everything I had from me. Here, in Nonexistence, I seek to help the Nobodies in any way I can. After all, I do not agree with how Sora is handling this dimension."

That made about as much sense as anything else that Axel had heard up to that point, so he shrugged and took Ansem at his word. The duo continued to trek through the wilderness for another half hour or so (despite Axel's knowledge that time didn't affect Nonexistence at all).

Finally the impatience within Axel came out. "I can get us wherever you want us to go really fast, old man. Why don't we do that?"

"Because you don't know the way or what it looks like," Ansem replied. "I believe you must have a mental picture to concentrate on in order to travel there in your special way, correct?"

Axel shrugged, defeated. "Yeah, I guess so."

"It's not much farther anyway," Ansem said. "We're almost there."

Axel continued to follow the red-garbed man until they came to an astoundingly large white boulder. Even though it matched the rest of the landscape around them, Axel could feel that it was out of place or different from the rest of the area. His feelings proved right when Ansem placed his flat palm on the side of the boulder, issuing clicks and whirs to be heard. The boulder grew a large black crack up its entire height, splitting it into two halves that began to shift to the side on motorized parts that Axel could not see, but could easily hear.

When the boulder was completely split, Ansem made a motion that he would follow after Axel. Slightly disgruntled by the destruction of the eternally white landscape, Axel started down a set of stairs that had appeared as the boulder had split open.

The area at the end of the steps took Axel's breath away. Computer monitors lit up every inch of the room in an eerie blue glow. The walls were made of dark metal and the floor of black marble. A single chair sat in front of one of the computer screens that was scrolling through massive amounts of text without user input at all.

"Where are we?" Axel asked, amazed. He noticed over to the side a strange spire that stuck up from the ground and crackled with electricity. Curious, he went over to it, making sure to keep his distance while Ansem turned to the solitary chair.

"This is my home," Ansem replied. "I conduct my research on the world known as Nonexistence here."

Axel whipped around. "You're studying Nonexistence?"

Ansem nodded, but still refused to look directly at Axel. "I am. I have also come across various bits of information that may be of some interest to you."

Axel walked over to the chair to peer at the computer screen in front of Ansem. On the screen was an image of the white throne room. Zexion and Marluxia were arguing about something, it appeared, while Vexen and Xigbar conversed in their thrones. Demyx, Lexaeus, and Larxene were nowhere to be seen.

"You bugged the hideout?" Axel's voice was very quiet, as if he were afraid to say anything.

Ansem nodded. "I have been observing the Organization since the first of you arrived. I even helped the Organization find a place to stay. Sora found them, unfortunately, and forced them to relocate. I was quick to help, however, and continued my observations on their activity."

Axel was impressed. "So if you're watching the Organization, are you watching Sora?" he asked.

Ansem shook his head. "It is too risky. If I were to infiltrate the Castle That Is and Sora found out, it would be mere child's play for him to figure out my ties to you and the Organization. I would then be eradicated from Nonexistence."

Axel understood the feeling behind it, but he didn't understand the logic behind the reasoning. _How can you die in the afterlife?_

"I have brought you here for a specific reason," Ansem said, brining Axel out of his reverie. "I have discovered a way to bring down Sora's reign over the Nobodies, but I will need your help."

Axel straightened up. A way to get back at Sora! Great! "Sure, doc, how do I help?" he asked.

"I am going to send you into the living world."

"Oh, yeah. That. I still don't understand that," Axel replied. It was the truth – when Ansem had originally said that he could send Axel into the living world, Axel had argued that it was impossible. "No one can be brought back from the dead," Axel had argued.

Ansem's reply had been simple: "You can if you're not alive."

The scientist had then begun to walk away from Axel, issuing him to keep up on his own. What Axel _really_ didn't understand is how Ansem was going to bridge the gap between the living world and Nonexistence.

"So how is this gonna work, gramps?" Axel asked.

"The spire on the floor that you inspected will scan your body and recreate it in digital data. We will then send that digitized Axel through a series of networks that connects to the living world's very own computer in the laboratory owned by my living self. The process itself will take weeks."

Axel was without words. A direct route into the realm of the living! He could have a second chance at life!

"Now listen to me, Axel," Ansem said sternly. Axel's excitement died down at the sound of Ansem's voice. "Even though the process will take weeks, it will begin automatically and you will have only three days to obtain your goal before the digital data returns to its original form, sleeping here in my laboratory. After you go to sleep, you will have three days from when you wake. Do you understand?"

Axel's excitement completely died away. So he wouldn't have another chance. It was only temporary.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good." Ansem stood up from the chair and turned to face Axel. "Do you know how a Nobody is born?" he asked.

Axel shook his head. It was something that he'd forgotten to remember.

"When a person of a strong will loses their heart, a Nobody is formed along with its counterpart, a Heartless," Ansem explained. "In Nonexistence, Nobodies are born when they 'die' in the realm of the living. Since Nobodies in the living realm have no hearts, they cannot truly die, and come to Nonexistence where they can exist eternally, heart and all. Normally Nobodies fade out in time, turning to Nonexistence after they have existed without a heart for a certain amount of time. After all, it is impossible to exist, even if you don't exist, without a heart."

Axel nodded. Made sense.

"The only current exceptions to the rule are those of you who became Organization members and a girl named Naminé."

Naminé. That name was familiar to Axel, but he couldn't remember how.

"Naminé is a special case: a Nobody born from the diffusion of two hearts from one vessel. Her Other, Kairi, is the base heart from when she was spawned, but a second heart also had an influence: Sora's."

Axel's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Sora has a Nobody?" he demanded.

Ansem nodded. "Yes. Sora's Nobody became the thirteenth member of Organization XIII."

"Roxas," Axel said. His shoulders sagged and his head fell. Ansem nodded once, slowly, showing Axel that he was correct.

"My living self rejoined Roxas and Sora. That in itself completely wiped out the chance that Roxas would ever come to be in Nonexistence. Unfortunately, only Roxas can come close to besting Sora's abilities here in Nonexistence, for Sora is Roxas' Other, and Roxas is Sora's Nobody. They are nearly one, but after Roxas was born, they became separate entities."

Axel's head was beginning to swim. Roxas was supposed to have appeared in Nonexistence, but Ansem in the living realm rejoined Roxas with his Other, ruining his chance to die a Nobody's death. Now that they have rejoined, Nonexistence's ruler Sora has become more powerful.

"So how do we fix this?" Axel asked.

"In order for you Nobodies here in Nonexistence to even hurt Sora, Roxas _must not be in contact with the real Sora_. As long as the life force of both Sora and Roxas exist in one entity, the Sora in this realm is indestructible."

"How am I supposed to separate them after I make it to the living realm?" Axel demanded. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing!"

Ansem was stoic in his answer. "You must cause the real Sora to become a Heartless."

If he wasn't entirely lost before, Axel realized that he was totally confused now. "How the hell am I supposed to do _that_?" he screeched. "I barely even know what a Heartless _is_, let alone how to make one."

Ansem shook his head. "I do not know. They do not exist here and the computer with which I have been conversing has no access to information of that sort."

"Conversing computers?" Axel said with a raised eyebrow.

"My computer's operating system in the living realm," Ansem replied with a wave of his hand. "The main OS goes by the name Tron, but that's not important. Heartless are born when a person's heart is stripped from their being. The heart becomes a Heartless while the empty shell left behind becomes a Nobody. In order to weaken this dimension's Sora, you will need to separate Sora's heart from his body in order to take Roxas away from his Other."

Axel crossed his arms and looked at the floor. This wasn't going to be easy, especially if he only had three days to do it. He looked up at Ansem and gave an affirming nod. "No prob, doc, I'll handle everything. I dunno how, but I will."

Ansem nodded in response. "I know you will." He turned and sat in the chair once more, staring at the computer screen as his hands flew across the terminal. "Now if you would please lie down next to the spire, we will begin this immediately."

Axel nodded and made his way to he spire towering out of the ground. It only came up to Axel's waist or so. Axel let himself down to the floor, where he stretched out his legs. _Might as well get comfortable,_ he thought, _this'll take weeks to do._

"Good luck," Ansem said from the console.

The electricity at the tip of the spire began to spark larger as more volts entered the machine. Axel didn't even have time to blink before electricity poured out over him, enveloping him in what should hurt, but didn't. It was very warm, and made him very sleepy. His eyelids were growing heavy, so Axel began to shut his eyes. Soon, the room was entirely black.

- - -

Axel's eyes fluttered open, but he immediately wished that they hadn't. Neon blue lights were _everywhere_. The world seemed to have been dunked in blue paint with neon blue light fixtures installed every two inches. He sat up and shook his head, finding that his hair didn't move like it should. He looked around and saw a strangely-dressed man in tight white clothing and a strange disc on his back. The man's back was turned to Axel, so Axel decided to make his presence known.

"Yo."

The man turned and his eyes conveyed his surprise to see Axel speak. "You're awake! You've been transmitting for a few days now. I'm glad you made it all the way here."

Axel was already lost. "Transmitting?"

"Sure," the man replied. "Ansem sent you, remember? He died a few hours later, poor guy. I guess that means something happened to his living self, right?"

Axel made it to his feet and looked closer at the man standing before him. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I really am," the man stuttered with a chuckle. "I'm Tron, the Operating System of this computer."

The name Tron rang in Axel's ears as he heard Ansem's voice talking. "Oh, right, you're my rendezvous. So, uh, how do I get out of this computer?" he asked.

"This terminal here can take you to the outside world," Tron said, pointing to a large hexagonal window with some buttons below it. "In fact, if you'll stand right here, I'll go ahead and send you back myself. You don't have long, after all."

Axel nodded in agreement. He didn't have long. His conversation with Ansem seemed like it had happened half an hour ago, not weeks. But Ansem was dead? What had happened? Axel replayed the conversation in his mind. He didn't have to worry about a way back – Ansem had told him that his digital data would automatically return to its original form, in the body in Ansem's lab. He had three days to find Sora and get Roxas out of him.

"Thanks, Tron." Axel gave the man a nod as he seemed to light up as the terminal began its work. Less than a second later, he was gone.

.oOo.

Eh, not happy with the end of this chapter, but it's something. I didn't want to run too long, because I have something planned for right after this. Next chapter is going to be more exciting than the previous ones had been. And by that, I mean _action_.

Hope you enjoyed Ch. 6, I'll have Ch. 7 up soon. Reviews help the process along, remember that. (wink)


	7. 7 Real Obstacles

To all the American readers out there, happy Memorial Day.

Disclaimer: yadda yadda yadda, I don't own, yadda yadda yadda, Kingdom Hearts, yadda yadda.

Warning: I portray Cid like he was originally portrayed in Final Fantasy VII – he was just too…stable…in Kingdom Hearts. If his accent is difficult to read, I'm sorry, but I live around people who talk like he does, so I know how to type it out…

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

7: Real Obstacles

.oOo.

Inside a small house in the middle of a quaint little village, a young girl with dark, short-cropped hair sat in a chair with her feet propped up on a computer console's keyboard. She flipped her hair out of her eyes, as she had let it grow long in front, only to let it fall back directly into them. She sighed and leaned back, bored out of her mind.

"Wish there was something exciting going on," she said loudly. It was times like this that she enjoyed being obnoxious – it was fun to see what the others would do.

"If you're so bored, Yuffie, go run around the town," a kind woman in a pink dress suggested. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that draped down to her belt line and her bright green eyes were sparkling as she read a large novel on the bed across the room.

Yuffie sighed again. "You don't understand, Aerith. I need _excitement_, not exercise."

Aerith closed her eyes, followed by the novel. "You think because I'm in my twenties that I don't remember what it was like to be sixteen."

"C'mon, Aerith, we're totally different people," Yuffie countered. Aerith couldn't argue with that, so she remained quiet. Yuffie paused for a moment before saying, "Wonder where Cid is."

Just then, a well-built man entered through the large front door of the house and fingered the stalk of grass in his mouth. He wore a tight-fitting white t-shirt and baggy blue trousers. "What the hell ya think you're doin' puttin' yer feet on my computer, kid?"

Yuffie yelped and dropped her feet to he ground with a thump. She stood up and ran over to the man, throwing her arms around his shoulders and crying out, "Cid!"

"Hey, woah!" Cid shouted, pushing Yuffie off of him. "What the # do you think you're doin', kid? I ain't no playground!" He looked over at Aerith. "Any news on the Heartless situation 'round here?" he asked her.

Aerith shook her head, already interested in her novel again.

Cid sighed. "Leon n' I couldn't find a single one, either," he said. "Things're getting' dull 'round here, if'n ya ask me."

"Yes! Definitely!" Yuffie cried. "I hate to say it, but I wish that the Heartless could come back."

"Yuffie, that's a terrible thing to say!" Aerith cried. "We must never wish something like that. Ever!"

"Aw, I know. It's just…" Yuffie was interrupted by a cry from outside. "Was that Leon?"

The door opened in haste as Yuffie and Cid rushed outside. A tall man with longer brown hair and a magnificent weapon resembling a sword with the handle of a revolver stood opposite a black-cloaked figure with flaming red hair.

"Leon, who is that?" Yuffie asked.

"Look at the clothing," Leon replied. "He's a member of Organization XIII. He wants to know where Sora is."

Yuffie gasped. "But didn't Sora take all of them out?"

Axel raised an eyebrow. In Nonexistence, there were still a few members missing, which means that they had not been killed in this realm. "Well, actually-" he began.

"Shut up," Leon growled. "Doesn't matter if Sora didn't kill you. That just means that I'll have the honors."

"Wait! Woah, hollon there!" Axel cried, waving his arms. "I just wanted to talk!"

"Fat chance!" Yuffie replied with a grin on her face. She had somehow dodged into the house to grab her massive shuriken, and now stood next to Leon with it at the ready. Cid was on his other side with a large spear ready for action.

Axel cringed. They weren't going to listen to him. "I just want to see Sora," he tried again.

"Sure. So you can turn him into a Heartless or something," Yuffie countered.

Axel shrugged with one shoulder. "Well, kinda…" A moment's silence, then, "No, wait, that isn't what I meant."

"Save it for someone who thinks you're worth a damn, ya damn bastard," Cid said with a sneer. He twirled his spear into a more ready position and charged, causing Axel to take a jump to the side in order to avoid the attack. Cid, grasping the spear with his right arm, swung wide and the tip of the head snagged on Axel's sleeve, tearing a small hole in its fabric. Axel made a noise and jumped back further, out of immediate danger.

"He's not even arming himself," Yuffie mocked. "He must know that he's gonna die already." She launched herself into a front flip that released her shuriken in the middle. Its four deadly points spun viciously towards Axel, who realized that he wasn't going to survive unless he at least attempted to defend himself. One chakram later, the shuriken was flying off in another direction, finally coming to stick out of the roof of a nearby building. Yuffie didn't seem distraught, however, as she leapt onto a crate and jumped to the roof of her own house, then turning to run towards her lost weapon.

"Will you _please_ listen to me?" Axel cried as he dodged another skewering attack by Cid.

"Don't make me get involved," Leon replied in a voice so low that Axel almost didn't hear him.

Axel armed his second arm with his other chakram and parried Cid's next attack, throwing him off balance, but the redhead jumped away from the teetering lancer to look over at Leon. "Come _on_, I said please!"

Whirring in the air alerted Axel of the incoming danger from behind him. Spinning around and swinging his left arm wide, his chakram deflected Yuffie's shuriken again, but this time its arc seemed to change directions as Yuffie jumped high into the air. She met with her shuriken and landed almost gracefully on the ground a short distance from Axel.

Axel turned around and parried another spear attack, only to turn around and flip backwards over the shuriken as it ricocheted off the ground directly under his feet. Using the back flip as leverage, Axel twisted the spear out of Cid's grasp, sending it spiraling off to the other side of a building.

"What's the _matter_ with you people?" Axel cried. "I just wanna talk!"

Leon was on Axel as fast as he could blink. Crossing his arms, Axel's chakrams were barely able to repel Leon's gunblade as he brought its sharp blade down on the redhead's form. Metal struck metal time after time as Leon relentlessly hammered down on Axel.

Axel could feel it happening – something inside of him was welling up and he knew the outcome of the battle if he allowed it to surface. He wanted to ask these people questions, not hurt them.

Leon continued to slam his blade down on Axel's defenses. At this rate, flames would engulf the swordsman and Axel would be responsible. He couldn't allow that to happen. He didn't have anything to do with these people. Axel waited until the gunblade came in contact with his weapons again, then quickly slashed to the sides with both chakrams. The points on his weapons caught the flat sides of the gunblade and it went flying into the air. Axel reached up with a foot, planted it on Leon's chest, and heaved off, throwing the swordsman away from him. Axel somersaulted backwards just as the gunblade sliced into the ground where he had just been.

"Will you _please_ listen to me," Axel asked through gritted teeth.

Leon, slightly winded, stood up straight and pointed an open palm at Axel. Red energy sizzled around his fingers and a large fireball suddenly erupted from his palm. The force from the spell sent Leon staggering back a step or two, but the fireball continued to plow on towards its intended target, whose gritted teeth transformed into a horrified stare.

_No!_

The fireball slammed into Axel, but instead of hurting him like Leon had undoubtedly intended, Axel felt the pressure inside him billow up even stronger than before. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and gritted his teeth again, this time from sheer pain from trying to force the flames from erupting from within. The pressure continued to build despite Axel's wishes. They would soon be beyond his prevention.

In his moment of pain, a picture flashed through Axel's mind. A sandy beach with several palm trees, a small dock with a few boats attached to it, and a seaside shack with many footprints leading to and from it. Something about it was calling to Axel. Something he wanted was there. He'd never been there – how could he have seen such an image?

The pressure began to cloud Axel's mind. Flames seemed to find their way into his mind's eye, permeating every thought he could muster. Time around him seemed to have halted as the pressure continued to build upon itself. He didn't have much time before they forced their way out of his body. Instead, Axel realized that he knew a different way to use them.

Axel stood up in spite of his pain and raised his hands over his head. "You won't tell me anything, I'll find someone who will," he cried as flames erupted into the air above him. A ring of fire appeared and fell to the ground. As it passed over Axel's body, he disappeared, until the only thing left to mark his former presence was a scorched ring on the pavement.

Leon stood upright, winded, and gazed at the ground where Axel had been. "Gone," he whispered. Something wasn't right – he hadn't fought back at all, when Leon knew that the Organization members were hardcore fighters. The only use of his special powers were used to defend himself and to teleport away.

"Gee, d'ya think we mighta overdone it?" Yuffie asked. "I mean, he didn't fight back at all." She had retrieved her shuriken again and was now standing on the opposite side of the scorched ring.

Leon scratched his head as he tried to make sense of what just happened. "I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe…"

Cid appeared from around a corner with spear in hand. "Where'd that #$ go?" he demanded.

"Gone," Yuffie replied with a shrug. "Can't explain it. He just kinda got mad at Leon and left in a hurry."

"Seemed to know where he was going, too," Leon said in thought. "I wonder if he knows a way to find Sora."

Yuffie made a hushing sound. "He might still be here, listening, hoping we'll spill something about Sora," she whispered.

Leon nodded. Normally, Yuffie's imagination got away with her, but this time she could have easily been right. "Cid, Yuffie, search the town. I'll get Aerith to look, too. We're not just looking for Heartless anymore, but also that Organization member."

Yuffie gave Leon a sort of salute before leaping high into the air to hop up to the upper stone ridge leading to the bailey. Cid headed towards the marketplace, leaving Leon to head into their house to speak with Aerith.

- - -

Axel's feet landed on soft sand on a long beach that ran around a small island. He could see the mainland in the distance, not fuzzy at all, just a little farther than he had gone.

_Sora could be on this island, though. I'd better search here, first._

Axel took a step, but his eyes found their way to the sky. The blue of the sea's sky was deepening as night approached. Axel turned around to look at the seaside shack. The light was turned off.

_He'd be on the mainland. Too many houses. I'll stay here for tonight._

Axel nodded to himself as he made up his mind. He made his way up to a tall tree on the other end of the island, where a small shelter had been constructed, undoubtedly for the children that played here during the day – it would come in handy in case of storms. Axel sat down in the shelter, which had a nice view of the mainland, and settled down with his arms wrapped around his knees, which he had drawn up to his chest. He rested his head on his arms and stared out at the mainland as the sky continued to deepen.

_Don't worry, Roxas. Soon._

.oOo.

Shorter chapter, I know, but it's getting late and I like keeping up a quota. It makes be feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Hope you enjoyed – I'm only halfway enthused about the emotional aspects of this chapter.

Reviews are highly welcome, good, bad, or indifferent.


	8. 8 Real Friends

I'm listening to Simple & Clean right now. I love this song. :'D

Disclaimer: Me + Kingdom Hearts no legal relation.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

8: Real Friends

.oOo.

Axel awoke to the sound of chirping birds the next morning. He stretched out his legs, his feet just reaching the warm sunlight that was pounding part of the floor in the little tree house that he had stayed in overnight. He stretched with a yawn and made his way to stand up. He began to move for the doorway, but the sound of laughter made him stop. He placed his back as flat as he could against the interior wall of the tree house and peered outside with his hood on, hoping to see the source of the happiness.

Down on the beach, a teenage girl with curly hair was running away from a taller, darker-skinned teenage boy with spiky orange hair and a blue bandana wrapped around his forehead. They seemed to be racing, but Axel had a feeling that the boy was letting the girl beat him. He gave another boy a thumbs up as he passed him sitting on the edge of a small ledge near a crystal pool and waterfall. Axel had fallen asleep the night before to the sound of that beautiful waterfall – it was something that he wouldn't soon let himself forget.

Axel decided to make himself known. He stepped out of the tree house with his hood down. He walked over to the edge of the walkway that overlooked the beach and called down to the sand. "Hey, down there!" he cried with a grin. He waved his arm in a friendly fashion and leapt down to the lower ledges of the area.

"Yo, you new?" the third teen asked. He was shorter than the darker-skinned boy and he had dirty blonde hair that was layered in locks sticking out from his head. Axel thought the look was kind of silly, but he didn't say anything.

"Yeah," Axel said. "The name's Axel."

"I'm Tidus," the boy said, pointing to himself. He jerked his thumb to the other two who were still running around on the sand. "That's Selphie and Wakka."

Axel nodded. It was always nice to meet new people. Thinking of how he had lived, without a heart, Axel realized that he'd missed out on something like that in all honesty. But then again, he'd had Roxas, which was as close to a true friend as a Nobody could get.

"Do you know where a kid named Sora is?" Axel asked Tidus.

Tidus thought for a moment. "Sora told me yesterday he'd be out to the island later today. It's not even noon, y'know."

Axel nodded with a friendly smile on his face. "Great. You guys mind if I stick around here and wait for him?"

Tidus nodded. "Sure."

Selphie had finally realized that Wakka had been letting her run faster than him, and was now busy kicking sand on the teen's shins while he laughed at her. Axel smirked in amusement and Tidus started laughing out loud. "C'mon, Selph, it only took you ten minutes this time!" he called. "It's a new record! Maybe next time it'll only take you seven!"

"That's not funny, Tidus!" Selphie shouted. She turned in a huff and dashed into the surf that was piling itself on the sand. She splashed around a bit, stood still, and fell backwards to lay in the ocean. Axel wondered what it felt like to be so carefree.

The Organization had never let Axel have any time to himself. He'd always been working as hard as he could for their sakes, but eventually he tired of it. He realized, after Roxas had been denied approval to meet Sora, that his life as an Organization member was rather oppressive. He was the Dancing Flurry of Flames – he needed the air to exist! He remembered Roxas storming off, but their conversation was still blurry in Axel's mind. Roxas' blonde spikes bounced away from the redhead despite the latter's warnings that the Organization would find him and make him suffer for leaving them.

Roxas hadn't cared.

Axel tilted his head as he sat next to Tidus on the ridge. He hadn't remembered that scene in Nonexistence. He was still remembering new things as time went on. His memories were getting more vivid, even if they didn't replace the scenery around him like they had in Nonexistence. He could see things in brighter color and hear the voices more clearly than before. Maybe that was a sign that Axel had almost remembered everything.

"So where're ya from?" Tidus asked Axel.

"Oh. Uh, I'm from another island," Axel lied. What could he say? _'Hi, I was recently digitized and sent from the afterlife into the living realm so that I could turn one of your friends into a Heartless.'_ That scenario didn't end well in Axel's head, so he decided to leave the question in an untruth.

"We don't get many outsiders in Marina Town," Tidus said, kicking his feet as he watched the other kids play. "The last one I remember was when Kairi and her family showed up."

_Kairi_. That name was important. Axel couldn't remember how, but…

"What does Kairi look like?" Axel asked. "That name sounds familiar."

"She's a really cute girl around my age," Tidus replied. "She has red hair that she just recently let grow out to her shoulders. She likes pink, too, so she wears pink blazers and shoes most of the time. She's really smart, too, but sometimes I wonder if she's really that smart of if she just wants us to think that she is."

Pink shoes and blazers? Red hair…Axel was getting an image in his mind. She really _was_ a cute girl. She had…

"Bright blue eyes," Axel muttered. "About…this tall." He made a motion with his hand and Tidus looked at the estimate.

"Actually, yeah," he said with a nod. "So I guess you do know her, huh?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah, I know her. Kind of. It's…I don't remember." He buried his face in his hands.

Tidus raised an eyebrow. "Got amnesia or something?"

Axel muttered an incomprehensible agreement from somewhere between his fingers and Tidus chuckled. Axel felt a pat on the back and heard Tidus' voice. "Eh, don't worry, Axel. You'll remember everything. Amnesia isn't permanent, from what I've heard. Maybe Wakka should whack you on the head a coupla times."

"Nah, but thanks anyway," Axel replied with a laugh. He looked out at the sand again, towards Selphie and Wakka who were splashing quite happily out in the surf.

"Wanna take a dip?" Tidus asked. "The water should be pretty warm by now."

Axel blinked in response. A dip? In the ocean? He'd never…

"C'mon, Axel, it won't be bad," Tidus said with a laugh. He tumbled off of the ridge, hitting the sand hard, and made a mad dash for the shoreline. Axel watched him for a moment, somewhat surprised and confused, but he eventually lifted himself off the ridge and swung his legs to the sand, following the teen in a jog.

The water felt wonderful on Axel's legs, and despite his black cloak getting heavier as it became drenched, Axel felt himself powering out to deeper water. A grin had spread itself across his face without him knowing it, and as he swam out to chest-high water, Axel realized that for the first time in his coherent memory, he was truly enjoying himself. Somehow he'd forgotten what it was like to swim.

"You look like you haven't swum in years," Tidus said as he effortlessly paddled past the waterlogged redhead.

"Couldn't tell ya if I had or not, honestly," Axel laughed. "But it feels good, that's for sure."

"It sure does!" Selphie agreed. She was diving in and out of the water like a dolphin, going to the ocean floor before springing up as hard as she could to sail as high as possible through the air. She sprayed all three of the guys in doing so, issuing laughs from all four of them.

Axel had forgotten what it was like to swim, to play, to have fun. Was this what it was like to have true friends? All he could remember was his relationship with Roxas – it was friendship, but a fake one. Neither of them had ever had a heart, so neither of them could truly feel any happiness when they were together. All Axel knew was that he had felt a memory of happiness when he and Roxas did things together, a feeling that no other Organization member could generate. Roxas had been as close to a friend as Axel could remember ever having.

And here he was, playing in the surf as if he had been doing so for years with Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. The four of them were having a great time! Axel was beginning to feel sorry for his old "life" with no heart because it had missed out on things like this.

"And just wait until Sora and the others get here!" Selphie grinned. "Then all seven of us can just swim all day long. It's nice to have a new face again."

"Definitely," Wakka agreed. Axel noted the boy had an accent that made listening to him kind of fun. "We'll have to play volleyball up on the beach, too, ya?"

"Ya," Tidus mocked even though he was sincere about agreeing. "And then we can have races up to Paupu Island, just like old times."

"Sora had been gone for so long," Selphie said as she floated past Axel on her back. "It's nice to see him and Riku again."

_Riku_. That name didn't really ring a bell with Axel, but he felt that he should remember it for future reference. He dove down and closed his eyes after he remembered that salt water stings your eyes. He launched into the air and did a back-flop onto the water's surface, issuing a small wave to drench Selphie, who squealed and laughed.

The day continued on just like this, just swimming and talking, until the four decided to finally get out of the water. They sat on the ridge leading up to the waterfall and dried off. Axel felt so heavy with his cloak so wet, but he didn't want to take it off – part of him didn't remember what he looked like without clothing, and he definitely didn't want to be surprised by what he saw if he had some horrible scar or something, especially in front of his new friends.

Axel's heart stopped. _New friends_. The realization was like being slammed in the head by a bag full of bricks. He had real, living friends with hearts! They could feel the kindness of others, they could return sincere kindness _to_ others, and they knew what it was to feel emotion. It was all that Axel could ever hope for.

But something in the back of the redhead's mind was beginning to nag at him. He was there for a reason, but in all the fun and excitement in the surf, Axel had almost completely forgotten why he had come to Destiny Island.

"Where do you think Kairi is?" Selphie asked Tidus.

Tidus shrugged. "Who knows? She and Sora are always off together lately. There's no telling where they are right now."

_Sora_. Axel's mission returned to him in a rush of visions. Ansem. The Organization. Nonexistence. The Castle That Is. Sora and Donald.

Roxas.

Axel felt the pressure building up inside of him again. He'd been wasting his time with these little kids when he should have been searching for Sora! How could he be so _stupid_? Was he really that idiotic? He'd been waiting for Sora here at the island with Sora's friends, hoping he'd be by that afternoon. Sora had probably felt Axel's presence and decided not to go to the island! Axel _knew_ that was the case.

Axel stood up and steam began to rise from his cloak as his skin's temperature began to rise. The flames inside of him were working their magic on his clothes, drying them in front of Selphie and the others, who were watching in a mixture of awe and surprise.

Axel turned and looked at the three of them. "I'm looking for Sora. You guys are going to tell me where he is!" he cried. A chakram appeared in his right hand, the happiness spent in the waves totally lost in Axel's rage at himself for being so easily distracted.

"Why do you want to see him so bad, huh?" Tidus asked defiantly. Axel was mildly impressed at the kid's attitude, but this wasn't a time for teenage heroics. The second chakram appeared in Axel's second hand and the redhead glared at Tidus, forcing him to sit down hard on the ridge.

"Where's Sora?" Axel demanded.

Axel's ears twitched at the next sound he heard: "Oh my God! Axel!"

Axel turned, his frightening gaze unfaltering, to face a young woman with shoulder-length red hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was a pretty young woman in pink shoes…

Axel stood up and gave the girl a sneer. "Kairi! It's been too long."

"Not long enough, you jerk!" Kairi shouted. "What do you want with us now?"

Axel brandished a chakram. "Not much. I just need to speak with Sora. I don't have a lot of time, could you see that I get to see him?"

Kairi gazed at Axel in amazement. "You expect me to lead you to him after seeing you threaten my friends like that? You're more insane than I remember!"

Axel felt the pressure inside building yet again. Precious seconds were ticking away. He had to speak with Sora!

"Kairi, please," Axel said in a much quieter voice. He forced the pressure to drain out of his chest as the chakrams disappeared from his hands. "I don't have much time. I need to speak with Sora."

Kairi took a step back, landing her left foot in the surf. "Why? Why are you here?"

"To speak with Sora," Axel repeated. "How many times do I have to say it?"

"Just one more – c'mon, we know you have it in you!" a new voice said from behind Axel. He turned to see a tall young man with long silverfish hair and bright blue eyes. He had a strange bandage wrapped around his left hand, and in that hand was a dangerous-looking red and black blade with an angel's wing falling off of it. The shape reminded Axel of…

"A Keyblade?" Axel gasped. "Who're you, kid?"

The young man laughed. "You expect me to answer you? You want to see Sora, you'll have to go through me first."

Axel sighed. "I don't want to _hurt_ Sora. I need to speak with him. Just tell him it's Axel!"

"Don't tell him, Riku!" Kairi cried.

"No, Kairi, it's okay."

A young man with spiky brown hair appeared from behind a large tree in the center of the island. He had bright blue eyes, just like Riku and Kairi, and a comical face that was completely sullen. He made his way to stand next to Riku and looked down at Axel.

"Sora!" Axel cried with a smile spreading across his face. "C'mon, it's okay! Tell them I'm okay!"

The boy could find the words to only say one thing: "You're supposed to be dead, Axel, what are you doing here?"

.oOo.

And now all the actors are present! Muahahaha!

Okie then. Reviews are widely appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to read.


	9. 9 Real Obligations

No update on the day between 8 and 9. I'd updated at least a chapter a day for 10 days straight, so I figured I could use a day off. What do I get in return? I update Nonexistence and begin a new Card Captor Sakura story in one day. (smirk) Dem's the breaks.

This is the greatest disclaimer in the history of fanfiction.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

9: Real Obligations

.oOo.

"And you're telling me that you don't remember me at all?" Sora asked Axel.

Axel had apologized to Selphie and the others, insisting that it was really important for him to talk to Sora, and that he'd acted out of frustration. Tidus and Selphie had forgiven him quickly enough, but Wakka now sat the farthest away from the Organization member. The seven of them were sitting in a loose circle on the sand, Selphie and Kairi sitting on the ridge separating the dirt and beach with Tidus, Sora, Riku, Wakka, and Axel splayed out in the sand.

Axel shrugged. "Sorry. Just Roxas."

"Well that figures, I guess," Sora figured. "He _was_ an Organization member, after all."

"Not just that," Axel corrected the Keybearer, "he was my friend."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "I thought friends required hearts?"

"It's complicated," Axel laughed. "We weren't 'true' friends, I guess, since neither of us had a heart, but we made each other feel like we were. Kind of a 'satisfaction at making someone pretend to be happy' sort of deal."

"I'm not sure I understand entirely," Kairi admitted, "but he evidently was important to you if you came here to find him."

"I guess so," Axel sighed.

"So explain again why you don't remember Sora," Riku commanded. "I still don't understand this."

Axel sighed again and nodded. "I'm dead. What you see now is a digitized projection that Ansem the Wise from my afterlife concocted in order for me to travel to the living realm in order to speak with Sora. Sora's counterpart in the afterlife is a horrible dictator that rules over the Nobodies that found that they exist. Thing is, Sora is suspended in the rift between existence and nonexistence because he still has Roxas in him. In order to make it so that we can defeat the 'Evil Sora' in Nonexistence, I have to find a way to get Roxas away from Sora in the living realm."

Sora looked up at Kairi with a worried look on his face. They both looked at Axel, concerned. "But the only way for a Nobody to be created is for a Heartless to be made," Sora told Axel.

"And I don't know what that would do to _you_, Sora," Axel admitted.

"Well I do," Riku said with a shrug. "He'd become a Heartless and try to hurt us all."

Selphie gave a little kind of gasp at this, but Kairi wasn't so sure. "No, wait – when Sora became a Heartless before, he kept his intelligence about him – he didn't attack me, Donald, or Goofy once."

"I think that had something to do with you, Kairi," Riku replied. "Your heart was resting inside Sora at the time. He released _both_ your hearts. Naminé and Roxas were both born at the _exact same time_."

Kairi was silent for a moment, her hand over her heart. She had been awake all that time inside Sora's body, watching as he went through peril after peril to find her. It wasn't an easy thing to think about. "Maybe there's another way for Roxas to see Axel," she suggested finally.

Sora looked doubtful. "Like how? I can't even talk to him, and he's inside me."

Riku bowed his head in deep thought. Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka just kind of looked around the group as if they were speaking a foreign language. Kairi and Sora were both staring at the same seashell sitting half-buried in the sand. Axel sighed and leaned back on his hands to look up at the beautiful blue sky. There wasn't a cloud up there.

"How did Sora release the hearts before?" Tidus asked.

Riku looked surprised by the question, but it was Kairi who answered. "He used a special Keyblade created using the hearts of the other six Princesses of Heart. He 'unlocked' his heart and mine at the same time, leaving him to be a Heartless."

Selphie looked down at the sand, lost. Tidus and Wakka weren't far behind her. Riku, on the other hand was beginning to see something. "The, uh, excuse the pun, but the key was that he used a Keyblade of darkness to do it."

"Was is really dark, though?" Sora asked, tilting his head in inquiry. "I mean, it was made by Xehanort's Heartless, sure, but it was created using the Princesses of Heart. I don't look at any of them with a 'you're dark!' finger, you know."

"But _I_ was the one who wielded the Keyblade," Riku replied, standing up. "Ansem couldn't have made that Keyblade without my body."

"So?" Sora asked. "He used you. We've been over this, Riku. We've already forgiven you."

"Not that, you blockhead!" Riku cried with a grin on his face. "The _Keyblade_. We might be able to use it to unlock your heart again!"

"Then I'd turn into a Heartless again," Sora said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't see where this is going."

Riku slapped himself in the forehead. Axel, on the other hand, stood up quickly, smiling. "Right! If we turn you into a Heartless, Roxas will be released again!"

"Woah!" Sora stood now, his eyes widened in alarm. "I am _not_ being turned into a Heartless again! What if we can't get me to come back this time?"

Axel was silent at that. After consideration, he shrugged a shoulder and said, "We, uh, keep your Heartless here until I can get Roxas back to you?"

Sora raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Fine, I got nothin'!" Axel admitted, throwing up his hands and plopping back down onto the sand.

Riku looked over at Kairi. "What about you, Kairi?" he asked.

Kairi looked over at Riku, confused. "What about me?"

"How did Sora come back the first time?" Riku asked.

"I said I'd be the one to protect him for once," Kairi said, a tear in her eye. She hated thinking about Hollow Bastion. "He just came back…"

"I heard Kairi calling out for me in the darkness," Sora added. "I had almost forgotten everyone, but Kairi's voice guided me back to the light. My heart returned to me."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Axel cried. "Nobodies are born of the body left behind! Why didn't Roxas disappear when your heart went back to your body?"

"Like I'd know," Sora muttered.

"Wait, you said Kairi was there?" Tidus asked. Sora nodded.

"She was there," Sora confirmed. He looked up at Riku. "She was there when I saw through your disguise, too."

Riku averted his eyes. That was a touchy subject, even now. "I'd rather not talk about it," he said quietly.

"We have to, Riku," Kairi said tenderly. "It might be able to help us with Axel's problem."

Riku sighed and crossed his arms, looking at the sand next to Axel. When he didn't say anything more, Sora continued.

"Anyway, Kairi saw you for you when you looked like Xehanort's Heartless. After you'd given into your darkness and become what you had tried for so long to beat. Well, not given in," Sora corrected himself, "but you used the darkness inside of you."

"She did see me for who I was," Riku agreed.

"And I kept calling you Ansem or Xehanort's Heartless," Sora reminded him. "I didn't see it until Kairi connected us."

"What are you getting at?" Riku asked him, to which Sora put up a hand in asking for patience.

"Just a sec. Kairi is the key," Sora said with a grin. "I'll bet that if it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have returned to my body. Naminé wouldn't have been born, either, if it had been a normal girl, but Kairi is the seventh Princess of Heart. I'd always wondered why they were called 'of Heart.' I'd be willing to wager money that it was Kairi's influence that let me see you for you." He looked up at Kairi with a wide smile. "She's not just a normal girl, you know."

Kairi blushed and smiled shyly. Axel was beginning to see how this could work for them now. "So if we were to unlock Sora's heart while Kairi's present, it's entirely possible that she might be able to restore his Heart."

"It's possible," Riku agreed, "but I seriously doubt that it works that easily."

"Oh, quit being such a downer, Riku!" Selphie cried. "Your friends need your help, and you're going to double-guess everything they say?"

Riku seemed to gulp at these words. He was silent for a moment as Sora and Kairi looked over at him, then he said in nearly a whisper, "I betrayed them once, I can't do that again."

The silver-haired boy lifted his head with a cocky grin. That grin was amazingly familiar to those present. Even Axel. That realization shocked Axel. Why would Riku, a boy Axel had never met, remind him of someone?

"Let's do this," Riku said.

- - -

The plan was simple enough: Riku would use his Keyblade in the attempt to unlock Sora's heart and remove it from his body while he held hands with Kairi. Such a physical connection with her, they believed, would be enough of a tether for Sora's heart to return to his body, attracted by one of the Princesses of Heart. Axel sat off to the side and watched silently. The other three, by demand of Riku, had gone home. He didn't want them to see a Heartless if he could help it. Axel, Sora, and Kairi had all backed him up, and Tidus and the others had grudgingly paddled back to the mainland.

Riku stood opposite Sora, whose hand was interlocked with Kairi's. The Keyblade that Axel had seen in the silver-haired boy's hand earlier that day was pointed straight at Sora's chest. Sora and Kairi were gazing at each other, both secretly worried but both confident in their combined strength.

As Axel stared at the Keyblade in Riku's hand, a mysterious blue light encompassed it and began to light up the area. The sky itself seemed to deepen to accommodate the beautiful light that began to lance out at Riku's friend and Axel's last hope. It struck square in his chest and the light burst forth from Sora's entirely body. Axel watched in earnest as the light continued to grow brighter.

But something was wrong – the light was spreading to Kairi's body!

"Riku, stop!" Axel cried, waving his arms.

"I can't!" Riku replied. He held up the inactive Keyblade. "It's doing it on its own, now!"

The two turned back to their friends to see Sora and Kairi both erupt in magnificent light that bathed the entire island. Axel was sure that he'd seen two glowing, heart-shaped objects fly through the air through the light, but he couldn't be sure.

The light dimmed completely, leaving Riku and Axel standing there to let their eyes readjust.

"Sora?" Riku called. "Sora? Kairi? You guys there?" He was rubbing his eyes fervently, trying to get them to work again.

Axel heard a faint coughing sound and he realized that he saw two blurry forms lying on the sand. "Riku, they're still here!" he cried, dashing to their side.

Axel held Kairi upright, as she was the one coughing, and watched Riku do the same to Sora, who was beginning to stir as well.

"Wow, that was scary," Riku admitted. "We thought that we lost both of you."

"I…" Sora coughed and Riku sat him up straighter. "I saw Roxas, Axel. He and Naminé were holding hands, just like we were."

"They went to see Hayner," Kairi added. "They went to Twilight Town."

Axel shuddered. Twilight Town, also known as the birthplace of Nobodies. He hadn't been there since trying to…

Axel stared over at Sora with new realization. "We fought side by side," Axel whispered.

Sora smiled weakly. "It's nice to be remembered," he managed to say. Then he sighed and fell asleep as Riku laid him back down in the sand.

Riku stood up and looked over at the mainland. "We'll leave in the morning," he said, looking at the darkening sky over the town. "Shouldn't be too hard – you've been there, Axel. I think you might be able to take us straight there."

Axel's brow furrowed as he contemplated that. Yes, he knew he'd been to Twilight Town, but he didn't remember…

A vision of Axel staring Roxas down emerged in Axel's mind. The ever-twilight skyline! Axel had a vision in the wastelands of Nonexistence…_that_ had been Twilight Town!

"I can!" Axel exclaimed with a grin on his face. "I can take us there!"

Riku nodded. "Good. Let's get some rest. These two look like they need it."

Axel nodded. Finally, he was going to meet Roxas again.

.oOo.

Haha, there ya have it – how they got Roxas out of Sora.

Read and review if you wanna, but it makes me work harder if you do, remember that. 3


	10. 10 Real Reunions

Had a busy weekend, so I apologize for no updates for a few days. I _am_ still alive!

Disclaimer.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

10: Real Reunions

.oOo.

Axel and the others rose early in the morning, not telling Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie what they were up to. Sora, Riku, and Kairi met Axel in his little tree house early that morning, the two boys' Keyblades glinting in the morning sunlight, causing Axel to shield his still-sensitive eyes.

"Are we ready?" Riku asked. Everyone seemed to agree that they were, so he held out an inviting hand to Axel. "Then if you would…"

Axel summoned his chakrams to his grip and grinned. He closed his eyes and thought the name _Twilight Town_. The squat buildings from the vision in Nonexistence seemed to bubble up from somewhere in Axel's subconscious. One wide slash from his chakrams later and Kairi had to stifle a scream as flames erupted in a large circle in front of the group.

"What is that?" Riku asked, brandishing his Keyblade at Axel. "You're not double-crossing us here, are you? I doubt you'd survive that encounter."

Axel shook his head. "No, it's a way to Twilight Town. I can't go first, or it'll close. You guys have to go first."

"Why not just open up a path into the dark realm like you always did?" Sora asked.

Axel gave him an inquiring look and he just let the subject drop. He turned to the ring of flames and nodded once before leaping through, disappearing as soon as he passed through it. Kairi gasped and Riku nodded. He made a motion for Kairi and gave Axel a distrusting look.

"Go first, Kairi. With one of us on both ends of this thing, it'll be safer," he told her. Kairi nodded and proceeded to jump through, vanishing into thin air before their eyes.

Axel was inwardly hurt by Riku's logic, but he knew that he'd done some bad things to them in his life to make them so weary of him, so he understood the silver-haired boy's hesitation to leave Kairi alone with the Organization member. Riku nodded to Axel and leapt through, vanishing as well, closely followed by the flames' conjurer himself. The ring disappeared instantly, leaving no evidence of any of them on the island.

Axel landed easily on the street on the other end of the ring of flames, Kairi, Sora, and Riku watching him as he appeared. With a look around, Axel nodded. "This is _definitely_ Twilight Town," he said.

"Yup. Nice job," Sora said in approval. He looked around and tilted his head. "Hey, we're in the back alley. That means…" He turned around and grinned. "The Usual Spot!" he cried. He made a mad dash for a chain-link fence in a corner alley. Kairi's eyes lit up at the sight of it as well and she closely followed Sora. Slightly confused, Riku and Axel followed along.

Sora pushed a lightweight orange cloth out of the way as he entered a small room in the backend of the alley. Still grinning from ear to ear, he called out, "Anybody home?"

Three teens huddled over by a couch in the corner of the room turned around. The only girl of the three of them squealed when she saw Sora's face. The other two cheered when they saw him, and again when Kairi appeared behind him.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Sora cried. He stepped forward and hugged Olette, the girl in the orange shirt, as Kairi stepped up and gave the boy in camo pants, Hayner, a hug as well. The somewhat heavier boy to the side, Pence, grinned, but it vanished as soon as Riku and Axel stepped inside.

"Hey! It's one of those guys!" he cried, pointing at Axel. Hayner and Olette jumped back as if they were willing to draw weapons against him.

"It's okay, guys! Axel's on our side," Sora said, holding up his hands.

Hayner and Olette looked doubtful, but both stood up straight again and looked over at Sora trustingly.

"Don't worry about it," Sora said with a nervous laugh. "We're, uh, looking for someone that I doubt you know."

Pence raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtful. "Uh…no one new has been around that I know of."

"Yeah, he just arrived today," Kairi explained. "Actually, two people. Their names are Roxas and Naminé."

Hayner blinked. "Roxas…I know that name…or rather, I feel like I _should_ know that name."

"Yeah, me too," Olette agreed.

Sora nodded. "It doesn't surprise me. But we just kinda stopped by to say hi. We really need to find these two like right now." He turned for the exit and waved. "See ya!"

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Axel exited the Usual Spot and stood in the empty alley, pondering where Roxas and Naminé might be, when Hayner's voice reached their ears. "Hey, wait up, you guys!"

The Twilight gang appeared from the Usual Spot behind the islanders. "Where are you guys looking first?" Hayner asked.

"We don't know yet," Sora admitted. "All we know is what he looks like. We have no idea where he is."

"Well what does he look like?" Olette asked. "Maybe we can help."

Sora nodded. "He looks a lot like me, but with blonde hair that spikes up in front. He wears white and baggy white pants. Naminé looks just like Kairi, but blonde with a white dress."

"Just like you guys?" Pence repeated. "They your doppelgangers or something?"

"Actually, yes," Riku said with a laugh. "It's complicated. Can you help us?"

Hayner looked doubtful now, but he and Olette nodded. Pence did as well. "Sure, we'll help look," Olette said.

"Hey, if they're _real_ doppelgangers," Pence began in thought, "why don't you guys check out the mansion outside of town? Y'know, the one with the computer room in the basement. Lots of weird things happen there, supposedly."

Sora nodded. "That makes a lot of sense, since Roxas existed in the second Twilight Town…"

"And that white room looks exactly like Castle Oblivion," Axel added. He stopped himself. "Wait…Castle Oblivion? What?"

Sora looked at him, confused, but Riku smirked. "I can explain it to you later," he said. "But first we need to find Roxas and Naminé."

Axel nodded. Great. _Another_ place he didn't remember entirely.

The four began to head for the massive wall that separated Twilight Town from the wilderness while Hayner, Olette, and Pence split up in town to search. The woods beyond the wall were dark and dreary, just like Axel remembered them. Sora nodded at them as well.

"Hasn't changed," he muttered.

Axel nodded. "Sure hasn't." He was beyond wondering how he remembered things – he was just happy he did.

The four of them trekked through the woods until they came across a creepy mansion sitting alone in the far neck of the forest. Kairi looked at it in wonder and Sora, Riku, and Axel stopped to reminisce. All three of them had been there at one point or another.

Axel looked up at the second-story window on the left side and saw a blonde girl in a white dress waving down to them with a huge grin on her face.

"Naminé's in there!" Axel cried. He started running toward the mansion, Sora and the others close behind him. They reached the front gate, opened by a Keyblade in the past (how Axel knew that, he didn't know, but he hardly cared at this point), rushing inside the courtyard.

Three steps inside the courtyard, the gate swung shut with a clang and strange mist appeared around the group. Four Dusks appeared out of the ground and jerked in their little jerky motions for a couple of seconds before Sora and Riku drew their Keyblades.

"Nobodies?" Sora blurted. "How is that possible? All of Organization XIII is gone!"

"They don't act on their own, someone must be controlling them somewhere!" Riku added. He swung his blade down and split a Dusk into mist that dissipated instantly. Kairi was near Axel, who had both chakrams in his grasp and was making sure to guard Kairi on both sides. He spun around and slashed though two Dusks who charged him, Sora taking out the last one easily. Soon the four of them stood ready for more to appear, but nothing happened.

"Only four," Sora said cautiously. "Let's get inside, quick."

The team turned on their heels and raced for the front door. It creaked heavily, but was easily opened. Sora made sure to lock the door with the Keyblade in hopes that no more Nobodies would enter.

Up the stairs and to the left went Axel, his chakrams still guarding his charging form. He burst through the door at the top of the stairs and stood in awe.

Memories rushed through Axel's mind. White floors, a massive castle, a plot, betrayal, Zexion, Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen, and Lexaeus. The Superior. The Riku Replica. Castle Oblivion.

More memories. Orange buildings and paved streets. A sky that was eternally twilight. Twilight Town. A young man with spiky red hair wondering how he'd arrived there. Axel's birth as a Nobody.

Ansem the Wise. His subordinate, Xehanort. A flash of silver as Sora appeared in Axel's mind, striking down a person that looked exactly like Xehanort. A magnificent castle and seven lovely young women. The seven Princesses of Heart.

Everything in Axel's life as a Nobody was returning to him all at once, merely from stepping into a blank, white room with a table and two chairs. Colored pictures were hanging all around the room, each one specifically geared for a memory of Sora's. Several of them had originally had Kairi in them, but now they were filled with images of Naminé. That had been part of her job in the past few years – to mess with Sora's memories…

Naminé stood at the window with her back to Axel. She turned around and she seemed to shift into Kairi, then back to herself before his eyes. "Welcome back to us, Axel," she said with a smile. "I'm glad I was able to help you remember."

"Naminé, what happened?" Axel asked. He was still a bit disoriented. He'd just remembered years' worth of memories in a single moment. It had been quite overwhelming.

Naminé smiled even kinder. "I was able to rearrange your memories to the point of being seen once again, Axel. You had a fog over them called Death. That fog had been removed. You have access to all the wonderful and terrible things you've done in two lifetimes."

Axel didn't know what to say. She was telling the truth – he could remember not only what had happened to him during his life as a Nobody, but he even remembered his _first_ life, as a human. His name had been Lea. No, that had been his last name. He first name…

Kelos.

Axel was shocked at this memory. He remembered something from his human life! He'd lost those memories as a Nobody. No, maybe not from being a Nobody, but from the lack of use of them. He had been a regular Joe. A normal person, leading a normal life. He'd turned entirely around after becoming a Nobody. He'd disowned his original name and life in order to be a member of Organization XIII. He'd given up his entire life for Xemnas and his cause. Only now, after the liberating act of death, could Axel go back to being himself once more.

But no…

"Where's Roxas?" Axel asked.

Naminé nodded. "He's in the basement."

Axel nodded as well. "Thank you, Naminé. I owe you one."

Naminé shook her head. "No you don't. Remember Castle Oblivion? You set me free from the Organization's clutches. We're even now, Axel."

Axel turned and headed out the door, almost bowling over Sora and the others in the process. "He's in the basement," Axel cried as he dodged around them and ran on. Sora and the others saw Naminé and rushed into the white room.

Axel turned along the railing on the second floor and headed for the other side of the mansion. His heart was pounding. He'd forgotten that feeling, but it was all too familiar once again. As he raced along the edge of the second story floor, Axel realized that he was human again, but with special powers. With a heart, a Nobody is human. He felt alive! His blood seemed to boil with energy and his grin couldn't have spread any larger. For the first time in history, a Nobody had become human again!

Axel spread his arms wide and hopped through the ring of fire that appeared in front of him, landing heavily on the steel floor in the basement two stories down. Standing in front of him with his back to Axel was a young blonde haired boy in white. Axel opened his mouth to speak, but found that all he could do was make small, insignificant squeaking sounds.

The boy turned around, flashing as if Axel was looking at Sora for a moment, then back to the blonde kid. His dazzling blue eyes were smiling as much as his face. "Hey, Axel. Long time no see," he said.

Axel's mouth was hanging open slightly, still unable to speak. The pressure built up inside of him again – he could feel the flames ready to burst through his chest. Instead, Axel let out a great laugh that seemed to shake the computer console behind Roxas. Axel rushed forward and grasped Roxas in a massive bear hug. Both of them were laughing insanely.

Axel put Roxas down and fell to the floor on his hands and knees, staring down at the steel beneath him. "Roxas, you have _no_ idea how hard I tried to find you!" he gasped.

Roxas bent down and placed a comforting hand on Axel's shoulder. Axel looked up and found himself looking straight at Roxas' face. He was still smiling. "Yeah, I think I do. It's good to see you again, Axel."

- - -

Sora, Riku, Naminé, and Kairi entered the basement's computer room to see Axel and Roxas sitting on the floor across from each other, still laughing as they reminisced.

Naminé smiled. "He looks so happy."

"They both do," Sora agreed. "It's a shame that Roxas is here in this realm and Axel will have to go back to his own."

Naminé's eyes opened in shock as she looked over at Sora. "What? What's going on?" she asked.

Roxas noticed the group standing in the doorway and waved them over. The four of them sat down, making a circle with Roxas and Axel, but only Roxas and Axel were smiling. Axel explained with a laugh that the Dusks outside had been Roxas playing around with them. When no one else laughed, Axel grew serious as well.

"What is it, you guys?" Axel asked.

"Axel, you don't have much time left," Sora urged. "You're gonna snap back to Nonexistence soon."

Axel's heart sank. Sora was right. He didn't have much time left in the living realm. But had he used his time wisely? He had succeeded in separating Sora and Roxas again, which meant that the alternate Sora inside Nonexistence should have been split as well. Although…

"Wait," Axel said suddenly. "Nonexistence's Sora may have been split again, but Roxas is still alive here."

Kairi gasped. "You're right! That means…"

"There is no Roxas in Nonexistence," Axel concluded. "That means that the alternate Sora hasn't been affected _at all_."

Riku shook his head. "The only way to get Roxas into Nonexistence is to kill him in this realm. He can't exist in the living and dead realms simultaneously."

Roxas and Naminé were looking at the others with absolutely confused expressions. "What are you guys going on about?" Roxas demanded.

Axel explained the reason why he was still in the living realm, and why he had needed to separate Roxas from Sora. Naminé, on the other hand, had been a mistake, caught in the crossfire.

"I don't really like the idea of dying, you know," Roxas told Sora.

Sora shook his head, at a loss. "I don't know what to do. If Roxas dies, Sora in your realm will weaken, but I will, too. I won't be as good of a Keybearer."

Riku gave Sora a crazed look. "You're still thinking about yourself, Sora. Roxas doesn't want to die. He likes being your Nobody, it seems."

Roxas nodded. Naminé nodded too. "I like being Kairi's, too. I don't want to die, either."

Axel was surprised. "Why would you need to die?" he asked.

Naminé wrapped her arm around Roxas'. "Wherever Sora goes, Kairi goes. Wherever Roxas goes, so do I."

Axel was dumbfounded. Roxas and Naminé were…together? But Nobodies didn't have hearts! How was that possible?

Roxas seemed to have read Axel's mind. "We exist inside of Sora and Kairi, Axel. Their hearts give us true emotions. Naminé and I have the same feelings for each other that Sora and Kairi do for each other, because we're so closely connected to them."

Axel shook his head. That was just a little much for him. Nobodies who were _in love_ with each other. Ridiculous…absolutely ridiculous! Axel started laughing, surprising everyone there.

"Don't worry about it," Axel said with a wave of his hand. "You don't have to die, Naminé. We'll think of something."

"But how?" Kairi demanded. "You only have a few hours left!"

Axel fell into thought, as did everyone else in the circle. It was true – Axel didn't have long, and the problem still hadn't been alleviated. Nonexistence's Sora was still as strong as ever, because the broken part of him had no vessel in which to transfer in the dead realm. His power may have been broken up, but he still possessed all of it.

And Axel had no time left…

- - -

It's really odd, but as I wrote the second half of this story, I listened to random Final Fantasy music, and my writing style changed according to the music. Specifically, Axel's emotions. But I still think that it worked out okay. Let me know what you think! This story is almost ready to start wrapping up, so make sure you watch out for the next few chapters!


	11. 11 Lacking Existence

Sorry about the massive delay – I have a new job, which is taking up way more of my time than I'd like it to.

But I hope to finish Nonexistence soon! Keep in touch!

Disclaimer.

.oOo.

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

11: Lacking Existence

.oOo.

Axel, Roxas, Naminé, Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat in the basement of the Twilight Town mansion, each one thinking as hard as they could. They'd been given a challenge: to come up with a way to take Roxas to Nonexistence without killing him.

No one had any ideas so far.

"What do we know about Nonexistence?" Sora asked Axel.

"Nonexistence is the afterlife of a Nobody. Nobodies have hearts and find themselves to exist there," Axel replied. "Those who existed with hearts in the living realm find themselves to be heartless, resorting to being the Nobodies of Nonexistence. The Organization is the strongest group of those who exist in Nonexistence, but have been oppressed by the Nonexistence version of Sora. Ansem the Wise's counterpart had studied the ties between the living realm and Nonexistence to the point of being able to send me in digitized form to this realm, but he died before I made it all the way here."

"It seems that everything that happens in this realm corresponds to that one," Riku added. "Seeing as how Xigbar was the next Organization member to appear in Nonexistence, and he was also the first Organization member after Axel to bite the dust."

"Ansem died, too, in this realm," Kairi mentioned. "His counterpart died off as well."

Naminé gave her a curious look. "But how does that correlate? I mean…if Axel dies and appears in Nonexistence, how did Ansem die in both places at once?"

"Maybe it's because he isn't a Nobody," Sora suggested. "It seems that the Nobodies have the strongest tie to Nonexistence."

"Well, sure," Roxas agreed. "After all, they gain a heart in death."

Everyone was silent for a minute, deep in thought. That didn't help much.

"So that means that Xemnas is in Nonexistence now," Riku noted. "And supposedly, I have a counterpart there, too. I wonder if he's evil, like Sora's?"

"I don't know," Axel said in uncertainty. "Sora had been a Heartless at one point. His counterpart is closely tied with Roxas. I think that's the main reason he's even _in_ Nonexistence."

"No, you mentioned Donald, too," Kairi argued. "Donald was never a Heartless."

"And if any of us have come close without actually becoming a Heartless, it's me," Riku added. Everyone chuckled nervously at this.

"We're running out of time," Roxas reminded everyone. "Axel doesn't have long until he pops back to the afterlife. We need to get a plan going, here."

Footsteps caught the attention of everyone in the room. Turning to the doorway leading to the library, everyone saw Hayner, Olette, and Pence appear.

"We thought you'd be here," Hayner said as they surrounded the group sitting on the floor.

"It's nice to see you guys again," Roxas said. "But I doubt you remember me."

"Nope, can't say that we do," Pence said. "But it's odd. I feel like I should."

"We know what you mean," Roxas said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'm Roxas. I'm a friend of Sora's. A really close friend," he added. Sora laughed, while the Twilight Gang just looked at each other in confusion.

"Our problem now is getting Roxas to the afterlife without dying," Kairi reminded people. "We have to keep focused, guys!"

Everyone got quiet, then Pence spoke up. "Afterlife? Wha?"

"We don't have time to explain," Sora said with a wave of his hand. "But Axel here is only here to take Roxas back to the afterlife with him."

Pence's eyes went wide. "Axel's a _ghost_?"

Axel laughed nervously, then stopped as the thought occurred to him. He _was_ a ghost.

The conversation from that point faded out of Axel's mind. He felt like he was floating…floating…a ghost…there, but not. It existed, yet it didn't. Just like a Nobody…

Axel jumped to his feet. "That's it!" he cried, surprising everyone in the room.

"What's it?" Sora demanded.

"I'm a _ghost_! I don't exist here, but I do! Roxas and Naminé are the same way. We're Nobodies!"

Riku crossed his arms. "So?"

Hayner raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Pence, what's so special about being a ghost?" he asked.

Pence cleared his throat, glad to be of intellectual help. "A ghost is able to traverse the planes of existence, ranging from the living realm to the afterlife and back, as well as the theories explaining alternate realities. After one becomes a ghost, it is said that they should be able to consistently enter the living realm or the afterlife at any point they choose."

Everyone was speechless, the significance of that definition dawning on them immediately.

"You mean Nobodies have had access to the afterlife the entire time?" Roxas demanded.

Pence shrugged. "If that's what a Nobody really is, then yeah."

"One who exists, but isn't supposed to, forced to roam the living realm without that which defines the real: a heart," Naminé defined. "I…I never thought of Nobodies as ghosts, but they fit the description almost to the letter, don't they?"

No one spoke for what seemed like eternity. It was Roxas who spoke next:

"Hey, Axel, can you tell me –"

"Roxas? Something wrong?" Sora asked, looking over at the blonde.

Roxas' eyes were wide as he stared at the space where he'd seen Axel moments before.

The fiery redhead was _gone_.

"Where'd Axel go?" Kairi asked, quickly standing to her feet and looking around.

"He just vanished!" Roxas cried, leaping to his own stance.

Naminé rose as well, though slower and more delicately than the others. "He must have been taken back to Nonexistence. Roxas, what are we going to do?"

Roxas looked over at Sora with a concerned look in his eye. "We have to try opening a way to the afterlife," he said. Sora nodded.

Roxas reached forward and placed his hand against an invisible wall. A flash of light revealed a magnificent white Keyblade with a thalassa shell necklace being used as a keychain. Kairi gasped.

"Roxas, that keychain…"

Roxas nodded. "It's Sora's. Err…yours. It's…hard to explain."

Kairi's eyes were flooded with tears, but she smiled and nodded. She understood. She didn't know how she knew, but something inside her told her the entire story.

Naminé grasped Roxas' hand and they stood there as the blonde Keybearer raised the Oathkeeper Keyblade high into the air. A strange wind began to stir through the room, despite its being underground. Hayner, Pence, and Olette collected together to stand near Sora, Riku, and Kairi, who stood opposite the two Nobodies.

"Be careful," Kairi called.

A black and white light had began to illuminate from the tip of the Oathkeeper as Naminé and Roxas smiled at their group of friends. The light engulfed the entire room, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. When the light dimmed, the two Nobodies were gone.

Axel's eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up, shaking his had. He had a massive headache. He looked around, immediately recognizing his surroundings as Ansem's laboratory in the middle of Nonexistence's wastelands.

"I'm back," Axel muttered. He made his way to his feet, standing to his lithe, tall height. He sighed and leaned back against the wall behind him, his arms beginning to shake as the tears began to form in his eyes.

Roxas…Naminé…Axel had failed to bring them with him. Not only was Nonexistence doomed to suffer the torture of its Sora incarnation, but Axel would never see his friends again…

The white throne room of Organization XIII popped into the fiery man's mind. He pointed a finger and a dark portal appeared in front of him. He stepped through and immediately found himself surrounded by every single member of Organization XIII.

Axel took a bow, completely aware of what has happened in his absence. Sora had killed every remaining member of the Organization, sending them here. Now he quite possibly remembered more than anyone in Nonexistence, due to Naminé's talents.

"It's good to see you all here," Axel said with a smirk. "You're all looking quite healthy. I think."

Axel looked up at the Number Three spot. It was filled by a burly man with sideburns and tied braids that dangled down his bulky frame. "Ah, Xaldin. Where have you been? After all, you died before me, you should have been here before me, right?"

Zexion's eyes shot open. _Axel knows that Xaldin died before him? That's impossible._

Axel felt the stare from the scientist's chair. Without looking at the blue-haired Organization member, Axel laughed. "Oh yeah, Zexion. I remember. I remember _everything_. Even the stuff you'd 'forgotten' to mention to me earlier in Nonexistence." His chakrams found their way to his sides as he grinned up at his fellow members. "I wonder if I should kill all of you and put you out of your misery here in Nonexistence? What would happen if you die in the afterlife, anyway? I'm curious…"

Every person in the room was on their feet, now, weapons drawn, except for Xemnas, Zexion, and Marluxia. "Stand down, Axel," Xemnas said, his deep voice booming through the room.

"Ah, the Superior," Axel said with a deeper bow than before. "It is an honor to once again stand in your presence. It is an even bigger honor to turn my back to you a second time."

Axel turned on his heel and opened a portal of darkness. Before stepping through, he looked to the faces of each individual member of the Organization. Some showed no expression, but most were utterly shocked at the conjuration of a portal of darkness. After all, no one remembered how to do that…

Axel grinned and stepped through the portal, which abruptly closed upon his penetration.

A portal of darkness appeared in front of the massive skyscraper standing in the center of the city of Nonexistence. A red-haired man stepped out of it, causing it to cease its function and disappear. He looked up the height of the skyscraper and laughed.

"You think you're so tall, don't you?" Axel asked mockingly. His chakrams appeared in his hands and he lifted off the ground, shooting high into the air, powered by the masterfully-manipulated flames burning deep inside him.

_Roxas isn't here. Sora hasn't been weakened. The world of Nonexistence hasn't changed at all_, Axel told himself. _There is little left to live for, if I cannot be a free person. Maybe I can put the hurt on those morons. Maybe I can make a difference._

_After all, don't all Nobodies wish to belong?_

.oOo.

Booya, one of the final chapters! Again, sorry it took so long.

And I apologize for this moving kind of fast. I really tried to figure out a good way to do this chapter, but I just couldn't do anything realistically. After all, _you_ try to find a way to get the living to appear in the afterlife without dying!

Read and review:D


	12. 12 Disillusion

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

12: Disillusion

.oOo.

A white light.

"Where am I?"

No one answered.

"Roxas? Where are you?"

Naminé's voice echoed through the void of white surrounding her. She was lost in what seemed to be nothing. She was scared, but at the same time, she felt…different. It was strange, a foreign feeling.

She felt as if she belonged in that void of white, as if it were her destiny to float in the desolate space in which she resided.

"Naminé! Where are you?" Roxas shouted. He'd heard her call out for him, but he couldn't see anything but a white void. He was utterly alone, but could still hear the overwhelming concern in his friend's voice for him. They were separated, yet were still together.

"I can't see you, Roxas! Where are we?" Naminé demanded. It was evident that they could communicate, but could not see each other.

"I see…a bright light," Roxas murmured. "It's hurting my eyes."

"Mine too. Let's get out of her, Roxas."

Roxas shook his head. "How, Naminé? We can't even see anything."

"You forget, Roxas: we're not just any Nobodies. We're on our way to Nonexistence, the afterlife of Nobodies. But can we really call ourselves Nobodies? We found our former selves and reunited with them, sharing their hearts. We belong with them, not in this white void. We came here for a reason. Let's get that reason over with."

Roxas was silent for a moment, then held out his hand. He grasped at nothing, but felt a strange tangibility in the white void. He clasped his hand around whatever it was that he felt, and Naminé came into view, her hand in his and a smile on her face.

"See, Roxas? We don't belong here, no matter how we feel about this place," she told him. "As long as we can prove that we're not just Nobodies, nothing can stand in our way."

"You're right," Roxas agreed. "Let's find Axel."

The light became brighter, but this time it was centralized in a portal. Hand in hand, Naminé and Roxas stepped through and felt themselves enter the light together.

- - -

Axel slashed through a Dusk that charged him as he ran down the twisting corridor. One after another, they charged him, and one after another, he slashed them to bits, dissolving them into nothingness. The corridors inside the Castle That Is were becoming more densely packed with Nobodies and Heartless following the commands of their "master," Sora. Axel, on the other hand, was leading an army of his own: himself.

As Axel charged through another doorway, he found himself in full knowledge of where to go. The Castle That Is was an exact mirror image of the Castle That Never Was. Axel had realized this almost immediately after stepping into the castle's domain for the second time, rushing ahead to the end that he knew of: the Altar of Naught. Or, as Axel called it in his mind for Nonexistence, the Altar of Being.

As Axel mindlessly slashed through his adversaries, one thought kept rushing through his mind: was existing really all that important? If he died, what would happen to him? The afterlife of a Nobody…it led to having a heart and being whole. If one could freely give that up, would they? If it meant being enslaved by one who didn't exist, then yes – Axel was willing to give up all that he'd fought for.

That resolve was what had pushed the fiery Organization member through the trials of the Castle That Is. The world was a blur to him – Dusks perished by his hand, Assassins died instantly, even Samurais and Berserkers were quickly put down. Axel's chakrams were blurs in themselves, twisting, spinning, slashing, and dicing everything that appeared before him. Not only was the castle guarded by imprisoned Nobodies, but also by Heartless, which confused Axel in the back of his mind.

_If those who have hearts do not exist in Nonexistence, and those without hearts exist, then where do the Heartless, who are made of hearts, fit in?_

The question was present, but ultimately ignored.

It didn't take long for Axel to reach the Nonexistence equivalent to Proof of Existence. Standing there in its entryway, Axel gazed longingly at the portals that represented the members of Organization XIII. Why were they still here, in Nonexistence? Didn't Sora rule this realm?

"Bunch of idiots," Axel muttered. He took a step and stopped. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. He dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a jagged bolt of lightning striking the ground where he'd stood milliseconds before. Axel dodge-rolled to the side, coming up with his chakrams at the ready.

"Who's there?" Axel shouted. The room seemed empty, but Axel could feel the presence of someone else. They were there. Too bad Axel couldn't guarantee how long they'd stay there.

The exit of the room seemed to blur in Axel's vision. He blinked fiercely, but the blur remained for a few moments, before clearing up to reveal a magical blockade barring his passage. He'd been locked in the room of holy representation of the Organization.

Two of the portals in front of him lit up. One was Xigbar's, the other Xaldin's. The number two and three portals were activated, leading to where Axel knew trouble, and the answer to reaching Sora, lay.

Axel took one step forward before he heard, "Axel!" from behind him. He turned around and saw a blonde-haired teenage boy and a similarly blonde girl running towards him. His eyes widened and he dashed forward, not for a friendly hug but for a dashing shove.

"Get down, you idiots!" he cried. Flames erupted from somewhere in the room and sailed over their three heads as they fell to the ground in a messy pile.

Axel sat up, off of his friends, and sighed. "What the hell are you two doing here?" he asked with a smirk.

"Not exactly the hello I was expecting," Roxas replied, similarly rising to a crouch. Naminé was sitting on her knees as well. "Isn't it obvious? We came to help."

Axel shook his head. "Not what I meant. How'd you get here? I thought I was yanked back before we figured anything out."

"You were," Roxas grinned. "But you're not the whole brains of the outfit, you know."

Axel laughed. "Coulda fooled me."

Roxas gave him an impressed smile. "You really do have a heart."

Axel nodded with a grin. "What, you think I was lying? Nonexistence changes ya, man."

"We have more important issues," Naminé reminded them. "Those portals and the way to the Altar. We have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Right. Let's go," Axel said. He stood to his feet and summoned his chakrams to his side. He armed himself and made a mad dash towards one of the portals with a wild grin on his face.

Roxas was on his feet as well, the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades in his grip, racing towards the second of the portals. Naminé turned and faced the entrance to Proof of Existence, as she'd heard the rustling of Dusks behind her. Raising a hand, she ignited the air above her hands in a ball of flame.

The three most unique Nobodies of them all were about to rock the realm of Nonexistence.


	13. 13 Real Endings

Kingdom Hearts: Nonexistence

13: Real Endings

.oOo.

AXEL

- - -

The portal inside Proof of Exist led to a large flat plane made of metal. The gaping, black sky overhead conveyed a feeling of loss. Something was missing. Axel knew exactly what it was: a massive, heart-shaped moon that floated over the World That Never Was.

Kingdom Hearts.

The envy of all Nobodies, the source of all light and darkness, of balance and confusion. Kingdom Hearts had been the target of both the Heartless and the Nobody of Ansem the Wise's cohort in science, Xehanort. Sora, Riku, and King Mickey had thwarted their plans, leaving Kingdom Hearts to fade back into the safety of its own void once again.

Now that he had a heart of his own again, Axel could feel why Sora had defended Kingdom Hearts so readily: the heart of all worlds was the source of all balance. Light and darkness couldn't exist without the other, and balance was just as necessary. Kingdom Hearts provided the necessary elements of life to sustain the existence of all worlds.

Axel couldn't think more highly of Sora after realizing this.

Axel stood there, his chakrams in his hands. The plane of metal seemed endless – he could see nothing. The stars above were twinkling rapidly, giving off their faint lights, but Axel could see nothing else. Before him stood two people: a white duck with a magic wand and a tall dog in knight's armor bearing a shield. They stared at the Organization member with utter loathing in their eyes.

Axel grinned. "And you two are right up my alley, aren't you?"

"We're here to stop you!" the duck cried. "We can't let you through!"

"Kingdom Hearts ain't yours fer the takin'!" the dog shouted. He spun his shield and stepped forward.

"Kingdom Hearts doesn't exist in Nonexistence," Axel argued. "Even if it did, I seriously doubt you dorks would be the ones defending it." He brandished his chakrams and grinned wider. "But if that's what you think, then you can try to stop me."

Axel charged forward, enjoying the rush of wind through his spiky hair. He spun around and delivered a backhanded slash to the knight, whose shield made a lovely metallic ring when it blocked the redhead's blade. Axel leapt over a fireball cast by the duck, flipping into an offensive position that set him up for another leaping charge. He sped towards the wand-wielding waterfowl and gave a wide slash with his other hand. His chakram was met by a field of wind surrounding the duck that pushed the Nobody back.

"Not bad, Donald," Axel laughed. "Who would have thought that you and Goofy were actually good enough to stand up against me?"

Donald's reply was a raise of his wand, issuing a vortex of lightning to surround the Nobody. Axel's smile widened as the lightning closed in on him. He began to do a kind of dance, dodging, rolling, spinning, leaping, and sliding, completely avoiding every lightning bolt. The spell ended, leaving Axel standing completely still, as tall as he could muster, grinning widely at the duck's horrible display of power.

"And that's all you've got," Axel sneered. He threw out his arms and a wall of fire appeared in front of him. With a wild wave of his arm, the wall burst into movement, flying along the ground towards Axel's adversaries. Goofy's shield was able to protect him from it, but Donald wasn't so lucky. The flames scorched everything around him, causing him to fly backwards through the air. The duck landed noisily on the ground, but was quickly back up on his feet. His white feathers were singed, but he seemed to be fine.

Goofy charged Axel, his shield spinning like a top in his hand. Its razor-sharp edge flashed dangerously close to Axel's body, but Axel was quicker than Goofy. He jumped back, landing easily out of the dog-knight's reach, and launched in underneath the danger zone of his shield. He gave a great slash and felt his chakram connect with Goofy's body. Utilizing his inhuman strength granted to him as a Nobody, Axel threw Goofy away from him. With a cry, Goofy flew through the air and landed on the ground in a crumpled heap.

Donald's wand was raised into the air as fast as it could be raised. Lightning shot forward, striking Axel's chakrams, blasting one of them straight out of his grasp. A small storm of ice engulfed the redhead, whipping his cloak up around his lithe form. A violent wind lifted Axel up off of the ground and threw him high into the air. He tossed head over heels as lightning and ice convulsed around him. Just when it seemed to have overtaken the entire night sky, a massive sphere of flames erupted from somewhere within the vortex of elements. With a massive cry, Axel pushed out with all his might. The sphere of flames expanded rapidly, pushing back the wind and melting the ice. The winds only aimed to fuel the fires as they quickly engulfed the entire sky over Donald's head.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, Axel floated silently, grinning down at his opponents. The flames wrapped around his form like a ghost, liquidlike in its motion. Axel was completely silent, but his eyes danced in a fashion not unlike the flames around him. Very slowly, he lowered to the ground, where flames of all sizes awaited his form. As soon as he touched down, the flames engulfed him to the point of hiding his body. A massive circle of flames surrounded the duck, who looked around helplessly.

Without warning, Axel's chakram appeared from within the wall of flame and slashed across the duck's form. It quickly flew into the flames on the other side of the circle, then reappeared from elsewhere, slashing again. Two, three…six times the chakram slashed Donald's form in passing.

A sickening thump signaled the flames to die down, revealing Axel's panting form. When he saw neither of his opponents moving, he stood up straight and turned, his cloak billowing out behind him like it never had before. A sense of power coursed through Axel's veins, but something inside him told him that he had yet to experience his true purpose in Nonexistence. As he stepped up to the chakram that had been blasted out of his grasp, reaching down to pick it up, Axel grinned.

The portal was in front of him now, urging him to step through it. Proof of Existence awaited him.

And so did Sora.

- - -

ROXAS

- - -

Roxas appeared from within the portal from Proof of Existence, his eyes narrowed and darting in every direction. He saw the lightning in the sky overhead, the clouds obscuring all light…

He knew this place.

A massive skyscraper stood before him, neon letters and billboards stapled to the buildings surrounding it. The city was dark, and it was beginning to rain. Roxas wanted to sigh as he felt the cooling drops of water begin to fall on him, but his attention was suddenly elsewhere, for he saw a figure moving atop the skyscraper. Roxas was the size of an ant to him, and he to Roxas, but he could still see every detail about the robed figure.

Silver, shoulder-length hair. A black blindfold over his eyes. An Organization XIII cloak.

In a flash, the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades were brandished in Roxas' grasp. The Nobody's teeth were bared in hatred as memories of this exact scene began to play through his head. He knew who that figure was. He also knew that he had to stop him.

Kill or be killed. It was the way of life, and the way of the Organization. It felt strange to Roxas to be living by that very same concept now, after he'd been his own person again. But that didn't matter – the only thing left to do was to fight once more.

"I beat you before, I can do it again!" Roxas shouted up the side of the skyscraper. "Come and get me, Riku!"

The robed figure brandished a strange Keyblade that looked as if it were born of demons. The Way to Dawn glinted in the lightning as it lit up the sky. Riku spread his arms wide and fell forward, swan diving off the skyscraper.

Roxas was expecting such a move, and was already dashing for the skyscraper's base. Once he reached the top of the staircase leading up to the locked front doors, Roxas leapt into the air, flipping in just a way to land his feet on the side of the building. Without letting gravity take its hold on him, Roxas pushed off of the building straight down, launching himself up the side of the skyscraper. He was at a dead run, his Keyblades out in each arm, charging towards the falling Riku.

Before he knew it, Roxas was mere inches from Riku. Metal rang against metal as the Oblivion met with the Way to Dawn. Riku spun in midair and brought the blade down on Roxas' backside, but the Oathkeeper was already placed there. Another ringing sound echoed through the alleyways as Kairi's memento protected Sora's Nobody. Riku fell away from Roxas, but Roxas wasn't finished yet. He put his feet together and launched straight off of the building, flying through the air until he and Riku were almost exactly next to each other. A deadly dance of aerial acrobatics and swordplay ensued, Riku spinning and slashing with his single Keyblade while Roxas deflected and counterattacked with his dual-wielding skills. The ground beneath them rushed up at them, faster and faster, as they ignored their plunge to death, only concerned with the death of the other Keybearer.

Roxas flipped head over heels, landing easily on the ground. The shockwave from such a long fall should have broken almost every bone in his body, but Roxas knew that the Keyblade had protected him – regardless of whether or not its user was good or evil, the Keyblade served to entirely protect its wielder. Unfortunately, this also went for Riku, who had similarly flipped and landed gracefully on the steps in front of the skyscraper.

The two Keybearers stood facing each other, neither saying a word, as rain continued to fall around them. Lightning lit up the pitch black sky and thunder rang through their ears. Roxas saw that Riku was not in the least bit exhausted from his earlier display of acrobatics, but neither was Roxas.

Riku was the first to move this time, charging forward with the Way to Dawn at his side. Roxas parried the amazingly quick slash with the Oathkeeper, raising the Oblivion to slash down on Riku's back, but Riku had other ideas. The silver-haired teenager ducked down and swept both feet out, tagging Roxas' ankles and sending him flying head over heels onto his back. The Oathkeeper flew out of Roxas' hand and skid to a halt over six feet away. Riku bore down on Roxas, who could only parry in such a position with the Oblivion. Due to the rail-like appearance of the Keyblade, however, Roxas found himself having to shift his head and torso to avoid some of the Way to Dawn's pointed edges as Riku hammered down on his foe.

Riku lunged in, feeling Roxas begin to weaken with the overuse of the Oblivion, the Way to Dawn aimed straight for Roxas' chest. A flash of light and a metallic ringing sounded through the alleyways once more. The Oathkeeper, summoned to his hand by Roxas, backed up the Oblivion in an X-shape, capturing the Way to Dawn's point. Roxas struggled against Riku, who had the advantage of using his weight against the Nobody's upper body strength, causing all the Keyblades to begin to fall towards Roxas, albeit slowly.

Roxas lifted a leg and kicked Riku in the diaphragm, then began to somersault backwards, throwing the silver-haired Keybearer off of him and onto the street. Roxas was on his feet in an instant, the Oblivion twirling dangerously in his right hand. With the blade pointed down, Roxas stabbed down at where Riku lay, but Riku had already moved out of the way. The Oblivion bounced harmlessly off the concrete. Roxas stood up just in time to parry the Way to Dawn with the Oathkeeper while he readied the Oblivion for another counterattack. Riku slashed again and again, his strength not seeming to even begin to wither, while Roxas felt himself begin to fatigue.

Riku reared back for a large downward slash. Roxas saw the opening, charging forward and slamming his opponent with his shoulder. With a cry, Riku fell under Roxas' weight, landing harshly on the concrete steps. Roxas kicked off the ground and flipped to his feet at Riku's head. He spun around and brought both Keyblades down only to be slashed away by Riku's own blade. Riku pulled himself into a somersault that distanced himself from Roxas, who was already charging after him. With a single sideways slash from the Oblivion, Roxas felt his Keyblade connect with something. Riku shouted as blood flew from a nasty-looking gash in his left shoulder, but the Way to Dawn was still firmly held in his right hand. Riku spun around and gave a great downward slash, knocking the Oathkeeper out of Roxas' hand.

Riku stepped backwards in a surprisingly calm fashion, Roxas panting heavily with the Oblivion brandished as his only defense. A portal of darkness appeared behind the silver-haired Keybearer, through which he disappeared. Roxas charged forward, but he was too late – Riku was gone.

Confused, Roxas turned around, only to see Riku appear from a portal right next to the Oathkeeper. With a grin, Riku picked up the white blade and inspected it, not saying a word. He twirled it in his left hand, seemingly oblivious to the pain in his shoulder, and stopped in an impressive dual-wielding stance. Roxas' eyes narrowed.

_His heart was stronger than yours in that instant._ The memory flashed before Roxas' eyes in a heartbeat. Hollow Bastion. The Beast. Donald and Goofy. Sora. Riku.

That was it!

Roxas felt a smile spread across his face. The was _Nonexistence_! The Nobodies had hearts, and the real did not. Therefore…

Roxas held out an open palm to face Riku, his eyes closed. Riku seemed somewhat confused by this, but his confusion evaporated as he began to feel the Oathkeeper vibrating in his left hand. He struggled against it, but the Keyblade wanted nothing to do with him. It vanished in a burst of light, reappearing in Roxas' hand.

Roxas brandished the pair of Keyblades, mimicking Riku's previous display of swordsmanship to the ending pose. A grin was spread across the Nobody's face. "Shall we dance?" he asked.

Riku scowled for only a moment before he charged forward, the Way to Dawn high over his head. Roxas was prepared, however. He stepped to the side as Riku lunged past him, bringing the Oblivion in…

Riku stopped, his eyes wide. He gasped for air, but found that he couldn't breathe. He looked down and saw the black point of the Oblivion Keyblade sticking out of his chest. His eyes slowly rolled into his skull as he fell limp on the blade. Roxas lowered the weapon to the ground and let it disappear. There was no point in making a bloody mess by trying to pull it out.

Roxas turned his back to the corpse lying before him. He looked up into the rain and sighed. He could have just let his consciousness go right then, let it slip into the cool water from the heavens, the bright lights of the sky, and the roaring applause of thunder. But Roxas' attention was turned to a strange noise in front of him.

The portal to Proof of Existence had reappeared before him, beckoning him to return to it. For a moment, Roxas contemplated staying there, in the rain. It felt nice, just to stand there and let everything be washed away. But alas, he knew that he still had work to do.

And besides – Axel and Naminé were waiting for him.

Roxas stepped forward, allowing himself to be engulfed by the strange, misty portal that would lead him back to his friends, and their liberation of Nonexistence.

- - -

Axel and Roxas stepped through their respective portals at the exact same time, only to see a very contented Naminé standing with a large grin on her face, her hands innocently placed behind her back. Behind her was a rather large pile of unmoving Nobodies and Heartless. Axel was surprised that they hadn't disappeared like when he or Roxas destroyed them with their weapons.

As if reading his mind, Naminé looked back over her shoulder at her disabled enemies. "I figured I'd better not destroy them. After all, they're Nobodies, too, which means they exist here, right? It's not right to kill things with hearts. Once we get rid of our tyrannical friend at the Altar, they'll be free to do whatever they want again."

Roxas laughed. He'd expected something along such lines from her. "Well, nice going," he said. With a sincerely serious look in Axel's direction, Roxas' eyes flashed dangerously. Axel knew that look – it was the look of one who knew how close he was to obtaining a goal. Axel's eyes flashed in a similar fashion.

The three of them turned and faced the now-open gateway to the Altar of Being. Their pathway was set in front of them, unopposed.

Bravely, the three of them stepped forward, up the staircase out of Proof of Existence.

The rest of the way to the Altar was almost boring. No one challenged them as they continued their trek. It was slightly unnerving, to realize just how deep they were inside the enemy's stronghold. Not even the most powerful underlings were showing their faces in such sacred of places.

Axel was the first to step up to the Altar of Being, the empty night sky hanging above him. Naminé was next, followed by Roxas. The three of them had finally made it: Sora's realm.

Before them stood a simple white door without window or design. It had no handle, but it had a Keyhole. Roxas' eyebrow twitched as he raised Oathkeeper to point at the door. A white beam of light shot out of the tip of the Keyblade and inserted itself into the door, and a clicking noise, like something being unlocked, resounded through the void that was the Altar.

Axel approached the door and gave a meager push. It slid open as if commanded, and the redhead took a valiant step forward, Roxas and Naminé directly behind him. As soon as the three of them were through, the door behind them disappeared, leaving them to marvel at the strange place that they had been transported to.

The world seemed to have become a swirl of black and white. The Nobody insignia hung in several places in the void, completely intangible and nearly invisible. But aside from these, the Heartless insignia, as well as the Disney Castle symbol, hung silently in the void around the trio.

_So you have come_. The voice seemed to resonate through the heads of the challengers, as if by telepathy. Axel's chakrams and Roxas' Keyblades were in their grasps in mere moments. Naminé's hands erupted in flame and ice as her eyes glowed wickedly.

"Sora! Where are you?" Axel shouted to the void in front of them. At this rate, he was surprised that they still had solid ground beneath them.

_There is no need to shout. I am right in front of you_.

Axel lowered his eyes to face the ground in front of him. Sure enough, Sora's teenage frame stood floating inches above the ground. But something was wrong: Axel didn't recognize Sora's clothing. It was shimmering white and a strange light seemed to envelop him.

Upon glancing at their opponent, Roxas gasped. "Final Form? That's impossible!"

"Final…Form?" Axel was completely confused.

"Sora utilizes the Keyblade's true power by using the life forces of two comrades in battle," Roxas explained, his eyes straining themselves to stay on the shimmering form before them. Axel, however, couldn't take his eyes off of the twirling Keyblades that seemed to hover mere inches from Sora's hands, telekinetically grasped by the Keybearer.

"Who would he have joined with?" Naminé asked. "We defeated Donald, Goofy, and Riku."

Just then, Roxas realized the keychains of both Keyblades hovering before them. One was a symbol of three conjoined circles. The other was a star-shaped fruit with a forest green leaf.

The symbol of King Mickey and a paopu fruit.

"He's using the life force of Kairi and King Mickey," Roxas whispered, astonished.

"King Mickey?" Axel repeated, intrigued. A grin spread across his face. He brandished a chakram and laughed. "This should be fun, then!"

"Axel, be careful," Roxas warned. "I've been inside Sora for a long time. I know what kind of damage that Form can do." He continued to look straight at Sora, but his whispers redirected themselves to Naminé. "Naminé, stay back and try using your magic against him."

Naminé didn't say anything, but she nodded.

"All right!" Axel cried as flames erupted around the quartet in a massive circle. "Let's do this!"

A strange light enveloped Roxas as he twirled his Keyblades. "No problem." The light was engulfed in darkness, and then a strange yin-yang effect took place, as white and black light swirled around him.

Sora was the first to move. Almost too fast for Axel to see, he closed the distance between himself and the trio, the Paopu Key twirling dangerously. Axel raised a chakram just in time to parry it, but the sheer force behind the Keyblade sent the redhead off his feet. Roxas leapt over Axel's fallen form and gave a dual downward slash with his own Keyblades, but Sora was too fast, and had already dodged around Roxas' still-falling body and closing in on Naminé.

Naminé did not panic, however. With a shout, a whirlwind erupted around her, throwing Sora back. The Keybearer flipped in midair and never touched the ground, but his back was open. Roxas was already charging with the Oblivion outstretched. Sora turned just in time to avoid its black points, bringing down the Kingdom Key on Roxas' hand.

"Gah!" Roxas' hand let go of the Oblivion in that instance, and Sora lifted an arm. The Oblivion disappeared from the airspace in front of Roxas, only to find itself floating around Sora in a dangerous spin. Axel and Naminé backed up, but Roxas was not impressed.

Roxas charged forth, the Oathkeeper's wide blade easily parrying all three Keyblades being flung at him by Sora's strange psychic abilities. Axel took the opportunity to charge forth as well, his chakrams spinning just as dangerously as Sora's tri-blades. Roxas gave a great uppercut that Sora had to bend backwards to avoid, but that left him open to Axel's assault from behind. With a great twirl, Axel felt his chakram connect with something and throw it clear across the void.

Landing on his feet, Axel investigated what had happened. The Kingdom Key had blocked Axel's chakram, but in Axel's burst of strength had flipped out of Sora's grasp. Roxas was already on the case, extending his hand out to the Kingdom Key. In a burst of light, it appeared in the blonde's hand, and he brandished both it and the Oathkeeper expertly.

Roxas leapt into the air and swung both Keyblades in several directions, each attack easily parried by Sora's psychic weaponry. Sora turned to face Axel, his attention no longer on his Keybearing opponent. This amazed Axel, that he could so easily ignore Roxas and allow his Keyblades to fight for him. But now, Axel realized, Sora had no way to attack or parry Axel's chakrams.

Axel launched forward, but Sora's left hand raised itself. A strange sphere of light encased Sora, and as soon as Axel's weapons touched it, a searing pain was sent flying through his body. Axel cried out in pain and jumped back, holding his shoulder as his left arm began to go numb. Naminé, worried, appeared at his side and left a healing touch to his shoulder. Suddenly Axel felt a tingling in his arm again, followed by full mobility in his fingers.

Glaring at the floating form before him, Axel realized what made this Form so dangerous: it had a total and complete mastery over both magic and the Keyblades it wielded. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible to strike a blow on Sora.

"Naminé," Axel whispered, "Roxas and I can't do this alone. It's going to take all three of us to defeat him. That Form thing Roxas mentioned is too strong. Magic and the Keyblades…there _has_ to be a weakness!"

Naminé's response was a blast of ice aimed at Sora. A gust of wind shot up around him, blowing the spell off-course. Naminé gasped as the blades of ice shot straight back at her, but Axel's flames erupted in front of her, melting the shards of ice instantly.

"I said we have to do this together!" Axel cried. He stood up and brandished his circular weapons before charging forward. Naminé's hands were raised as well as a gust of wind appeared around Axel's form. The closer Axel got to Sora, the stronger the wind became, until Naminé had to expand it or risk blocking Axel's view with wind. The redheaded Nobody slashed down on Sora, but the same crystalline shield appeared. This time, however, the ricocheting pain was absorbed by the wind barrier, and Axel was able to attack a second time. Unfortunately, The Paopu Key was in Axel's way, deflecting Axel's second weapon.

The Oblivion appeared in a twirling mess of metal, bearing down on Axel, but the Oathkeeper intercepted it, throwing it back. Roxas landed next to Axel and leapt right back into the fray, doing a front-flip leading into a dual-bladed downward slash. The weapons pinned the Paopu Key to the ground. "Go!" Roxas cried.

Axel charged in, only to be intercepted by the Oblivion once more. Axel deflected its attack, but once again the force behind the blow was staggering. A gust of wind pushed Axel forward, however, and the redhead was able to follow through with the attack. Slipping the chakram to a slight angle, Axel allowed the Oblivion's blade to travel through one of the gaps in his weapon, then, with a flick of his wrist, sent the Keyblade flying out of Sora's psychic grasp.

Axel leapt into the air, flames and wind propelling him far faster than he could have jumped on his own, his chakrams spinning dangerously. Sora lifted his arms and the mirror-like shield appeared once more, but before Axel could touch it, a fireball slammed into it. The shield disrupted as it counterattacked its assailant, and Axel heard a bloodcurdling scream from behind him as he brought down his chakrams in a cross slash.

Axel landed on the other side of Sora's form as it slowly allowed itself to fall to the ground, feet first, then its knees, then its whole body. The white glow began to dim and Sora's clothes began to return to normal. The Keyblade pinned down by Roxas' own began to settle down, and finally came to rest under the blonde's body weight.

Axel stood up and loomed over the bleeding form before him, gashed two different ways by the redhead's weapons. A slight feeling of pity found its way into Axel's heart, but the redhead merely shrugged it off, ignoring it. Instead, a new feeling appeared in its place: worry for the scream he'd heard right before ending the struggle.

Roxas was up in a flash, running towards Naminé, Axel right on his heels. The two of them bent down and found themselves on either side of the blonde, staring down in her pain-contorted face. She gasped and coughed.

"Naminé," Roxas whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "You did it."

Naminé smiled weakly and looked up at Roxas with hope in her eyes. "I'm glad," she managed to cough.

"Sora's gone," Axel said quietly. He stood up, allowing Roxas to take care of Naminé. "Nonexistence is freed."

A strange black portal appeared in front of Axel, issuing his chakrams to appear in his hands. "Who's there?" he cried.

A tall, dark figure appeared from within the portal. Xemnas. "You've done well, Number 9."

"The name's Axel," Axel replied, his voice dripping with acid. "I have a name. I'm not just a Nobody anymore."

Xemnas laughed. "Of course. But I am still your Superior."

Axel laughed louder than Xemnas. "Or so you think." He looked down at Roxas and Naminé, who were slowly making their way to their feet. "What do you guys think?" Axel asked them.

Naminé laughed weakly. "Xemnas, you couldn't rule Nonexistence if your afterlife depended on it."

Roxas grinned up at the Number One. "I'd have to say that I agree."

Xemnas stared down at the two of them in disbelief. "You two never died! Why are you here?" he demanded.

Axel's face became stern. "I brought them here from the living realm to stop Sora, so that we could be free. What are you going to do about them?"

Xemnas scowled. "The only thing I can do: make them my servants as well."

Roxas poked his temple with the hand not helping Naminé stand. "You just don't get it, do you, Xemnas? We're not Organization members anymore. We're not Nobodies. You don't own us! We have our own lives. Our own hearts! How can you stand here and expect us to become your loyal minions when we can think and feel for ourselves?"

"It is because I have always been the Superior." was Xemnas' reply.

"Eh, I don't think I like that answer."

Xemnas turned around, flustered. "Who dares say such things?" he demanded harshly.

The entirety of Organization XIII stood behind Xemnas, each one with their arms crossed or at their sides, each staring the Superior in the face.

It was Zexion that spoke. "We're tired of being your lackies, Xemnas. We want our own afterlives. Like Axel."

Xemnas took a staggering step backwards, bumping into Axel, who laughed. "Y'see, Xemnas? Being dead has its advantages. We don't need you to get what we want anymore." Axel shrugged and gave a laugh. "But then again, I'm one of the few who never believed that we needed you to begin with." He gave an affectionate grin to Roxas and Naminé, who both grinned in return.

Xemnas huffed. "But someone has to lead this world. If no one does, chaos will ensue."

"Then why don't we rule it together?" Larxene suggested. "The thirteen of us…no, wait…Roxas and Naminé aren't really dead…do they count?" she asked no one.

"The fourteen of us."

Axel, shocked, looked towards the person who had said it: Roxas. He and Naminé were holding hands, smiling at each other, then turned their gazes upon the others.

Axel was flabbergasted. "Roxas, wait! There's a way to get you back to the living realm! I know there is! You don't have to stay there!"

Roxas looked over at Axel, his eyes showing the redhead that he'd already made up his mind. "There's nothing there for us anymore, Axel. Sora and Kairi are living normal lives again. The Heartless and Nobodies are no longer a concern in the multiverse. We're better off here."

Axel was stunned. Roxas and Naminé were giving up their chances to live again! But…

"Why?"

"We've missed you." Naminé's answer was simple, and yet it flooded everyone there who knew her with emotions.

"Alright, then," Vexen said, crossing his arms. "It's settled."

Xaldin nodded. "We, Organization XIV, will lead Nonexistence."

Roxas shook his head. "No. I have a better name."

Xemnas gave the blonde kid a strange look, as if to ask how he could defile the Organization any further.

"The Council of Fourteen."

.oOo.

AFTERWORD

.oOo.

This piece has been a lot of fun to write. I really have to apologize for the lack of updating as it got longer. I got a job, so I had limited time, and when I did have time, I was always working on other things. I'm really sorry for it, but I'm really pleased with the results. I really hoped you enjoyed _Nonexistence_, and I hope you take a look at some of my other works as well.

Peace out! -TigStripe


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